


Skeletons and a Slime (REWRITE)

by ea_games



Category: Monster Girls | Monster Boys, Underfell - Fandom, Underswap - Fandom, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Awkward Romance, Episodic in nature, Eventual Romance, Everyone loves reader, F/M, Gen, Harems, Inspired by Six Skeletons One Maid, Maids, Monster Girls, Multi, Reader has she/her pronouns, Reader is a Monster Girl, Reader is a Slime Girl Specifically, Reader is the Skelebros's Maid, Reader-Insert, Reverse Harem, Romantic Comedy, Romantic Fluff, Slow Burn, Underfell Papyrus (Undertale), Underfell Sans (Undertale), Underswap Papyrus (Undertale), Underswap Sans (Undertale), Undertale Monsters on the Surface, a revamp of an old fic i wrote, and of course regular pap and sans as well, but I don't really describe body parts, i am the same writer of the original "Six Skeletons and a Slime", monsters in general - Freeform, this is a rewrite, with a few overarching plots planned out, yes there are going to be multiple maids at some point
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2020-12-27 19:30:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 36,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21124034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ea_games/pseuds/ea_games
Summary: In a world where both Mamono (Monster Girls/People) and Regular Monsters (Ebott Monsters) coexist, a young Shoggoth maid is hired by a household of six skeletons, for reasons unbeknownst to them. Though given she is not a human, but a monster, things might go awry........well, what could possibly go wrong, right?





	1. The New Maid, a Slime

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Six Skeletons, One Maid](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7124200) by [RaccoonSinQueen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaccoonSinQueen/pseuds/RaccoonSinQueen). 

> HELLO ALL. I'm back!  
If you don't know who I am, back in the day I was known as cinnavanilla, and I wrote a ton of Undertale x Readers, mixed in with the theme of the Reader being a Monster Girl from the Monster Girl Encyclopedia (something I don't like nearly as much now as I did back then, but the monster girls are still cute so I like them)
> 
> THIS IS A REVAMP OF AN OLD FIC I MADE. I wanted to rewrite it since  
A. I've gotten back into Undertale and the fandom  
B. I did not like how my old writing aged  
C. because of those reasons combined, I started thinking up a rewrite
> 
> I've learned more about writing now and the nuances of it, and I can use my old work as a base to work off of. With that said, if anyone still loves the original "Six Skeletons, One Maid" and finds this, I hope you'll like what I have to write!
> 
> Note that I have changed some things from the original source material the monster girls come from (I am using MGE as a reference but not a total basis) so if you know the encyclopedia, it's not going totally by the book. With that said, I think it makes it much more interesting!

As you arrived on the mansion's grounds, you stared up at it in slight curiosity. The place was big, much bigger than you would've anticipated. For only 6 people to live here must be quite....alarming, to say the least. However, maybe there was something your employer just didn't explain to you. It's not like they had an obligation to tell you all the details of the house until you got there, albeit it would've made things much easier.

....ah, right, context! That's important, let's just take a moment to remember why you are even at this estate in the first place.

* * *

You sighed, looking at the small bag you had brought along with you as you slid along in the Monster Village, wondering what your fate would be. You see, Shoggoths leave their original masters after they gain sentience, and often go out to find who they'd like to be alongside with for as long as they desire. While it wouldn't be independence to most, for Shoggoths it is a huge step up from being nigh brainless blobs of nothing, being able to choose who you want to serve.

The only problem was that you had no idea. No men nor women nor anyone in between or outside of the spectrum has interacted with your original master. She was a rather reclusive one, for a Demon. The only interaction you had was with her, her other shoggoths or servants besides those, and her little Devil cousins. Devils in both the literal and figurative sense that is.

Usually, Shoggoths go to serve a person they fall in love with or have grown close to. However as stated before, you knew no one who you had a bond with.

Maybe for now you should focus on where you will stay for the time being. Especially since it seems to be getting darker as you slide along, the sky shimmering a nice crimson-magenta as the sun begins to set.

Although as you continue to walk in search of a motel of some sort, you feel something hit and stick to your lower half.

Looking down, one of your tentacles plucked it off of your body. Upon further inspection, it was a flyer for something. Seemingly, a job, which sparked your interest.

The flyer was illustrated with mild skill. A skeleton (an Ebott one from the looks of it) was on the front leaning in front of a desk with a wink. The smile stood out most to you aside from what the flyer itself read.

_ **"** _ _ **Come Serve the Skelefont Household!** _

**We are in need of a servant for the manor! All of our old ones have retired and we cannot handle every chore ourselves for a multitude of reasons. Preferably, we'd like a capable servant that can handle multiple tasks at once, as well as serving multiple masters and their guests! If you have friends, bring them along with you! If not, please be ready to undergo vigorous training if you are still willing to try and help us out! You will be paid nicely at the end of every week, use the money for whatever you desire!  
**

_ **If you are interested, please call the number below or visit the address right under it!"** _

Along with that, it listed a phone number as expected, and an address presumably where the house was settled.

One thing stood out to you for sure..............

this poster, for one, was incredibly presumptuous in how it seemed to perceive the average person's capabilities. Maybe it was just you, but you feel like the amount of work it is implying would be much more than what normal humans or even some monsters could handle. How they thought they'd get a bunch of tryouts with this was kind of amusing, since you assumed they might not have gotten more than 3.

However, putting aside your own gripes with the advertising scheme, you did know one thing: if anyone could handle a job like this, it ought to be someone like you. Shoggoths were born for this kind of intense service after all.

Maybe tomorrow you could start your job hunting. Putting this flyer into your bag, you then decided it was time to search for lodging to turn in for the night. Your new possible employment will begin tomorrow.

..

..

..

..

..

..

You woke up to the sound of chickens and roosters cawing, and that's when you immediately sprung up, went to the motel's phone line, and called the number on the flyer. The faster you could do this, the better.

One of the workers advised it might be too early to call someone, though to your surprise someone actually did answer. Albeit they sounded quite tired.

"mmnnm, yeah? what is it?"

A cool, albeit lazy sounding voice spoke to you. Someone just woke up, it seems.

"Yes, hello? This is the number that was on the flyer, isn't it? I'd like to meet up with you to discuss employment, if that's okay."

It took the voice one.........two.........three grunts and grumbles and yawns, and presumably what was the sound of a drink being sipped, til it began speaking again.

"alright. sure. but, uh, you kinda called earlier than i woulda expected someone to. can we meet up around noon?"

You blinked, looking at the clock. Well, you knew it was early but you didn't assume it was 7 a.m. Apologizing quickly for your excitement, the voice just chuckled at you and said it was not a big deal, before you both agreed to meet around noon and hung up straight after. Though you were still mildly embarrassed that you bothered someone so early, so you offered to help the motel workers fix the place up before everyone else awoke. You even made breakfast.

Well, if one thing was for certain, doing chores was a stress reliever.

..

..

..

Noon had arrived, and when you had called to check in and see if they still wanted to meet with you, your potential employer had requested you meet up....in a park, for lunch. So here you were, sitting on a bench in the middle of the Ebott City Park.

Ah, yes, Ebott City.

The Monster Villages were common around the place for monsters who still desired a humble life, but Ebott City--one of the biggest cities in the nation--was built around Mount Ebott after the monsters were freed from the place. It's made substantial progress compared to when it was first built--many humans were against it, but thanks to the work of the apparent child ambassador, the king and former queen of Ebott, and the progress already made by the surface-dwelling monsters (Mamono) that recently revealed themselves to the general public a few days prior, eventually the city was built.

That was about......5 years ago, you believe. The monsters truly were amazing, making civilizations much faster than any humans could. Not to be prejudiced or anything, humans and monsters working together could accomplish so much if only there wasn't discrimination and hatred still present in both sides.

But, your exposition and fourth wall breaking was broken by someone wheeling a hot dog cart up to you.

Confused, you were about to say you weren't very hungry before you noticed who wheeled it up to you.

"heya, sorry i'm late. i was taking care of a bit of business. hehe," the same voice from the phone spoke to you. And along with it was a messily yet neatly dressed short and stout skeleton, wearing a hoodie over his suit and....were those sandals?

Regardless, they resembled the skeleton on the poster well enough, so you decided it was best to act as properly as you could.

"It's alright. I was just, uh...kind of surprised by the whole hot dog thing," you laughed nervously as they lumbered up next to you and sat down on the bench, scratching their side and sighing.

Looking over them briefly, this skeleton was...oddly chubby, for a skeleton. It wasn't unusual if they perhaps formed a belly for themselves as Mamono Skeletons make themselves bodies all the time, though you didn't necessarily expect it regardless. They also had a round face, round eyesockets with tiny bright lights in them to act as actual eyeballs presumably. And, of course, the grin.

"so, you wanna work for me, my bro, 'n the others that live at our house, right?" they spoke up, and you flinched as you were still staring at them. They let out a soft chuckle. Crud, they noticed.

"Y--Yes! If you'd allow me. I have nowhere else to go as of now and it'd probably be a really difficult search trying to find somewhere on short notice. But I don't necessarily want to travel too far either, so..." you sighed, "My options right now are very limited."

They got a hotdog from their cart and proceeded to make themselves one, dousing it in ketchup. It was oddly gross yet you wondered how it'd taste before they chomped on it. They ate the hotdog, proceeding to get a bit of ketchup on themselves before feeling something touching them all of a sudden.

Out of habit, you started to clean the ketchup from their cheek(bones) and shirt before stopping as soon as they looked at you.

"Sorry, it's a habit of mine."

They blinked, before finishing the 'dog and smirking, "i see now. so you're a shoggoth, aren'tcha? one of those slime people who are servants."

You nodded, smiling at them, "Right you are. It's kind of in my nature to want to help others," you then frowned a bit and looked down, "...well, it would be, but I don't have anywhere I can go as I've told you before."

"i see," they wiped off any bread crumbs from the bun from their face, "well, tell ya what. i'll help you out a bit then since you were gracious enough to wanna help us out, m'kay?" they smiled at you, and honestly? It was a pretty nice smile, albeit it held some sort of very mild caution beneath the kind gaze, "i'll let'cha work at the manor for a week. if the general consensus is that the others don't like ya, you'll be booted out."

The phrasing made you wince a little on the inside, but the skeleton began speaking again.

"buT. if the general consensus is that they think y'er a good servant to have around, then we'll keep ya around if you want to stay. sounds easy enough, right?"

Their offer was indeed pretty enticing. It was also fair. You'd get to prove yourself worthy to work for them, and in turn if they thought your service was good enough you'd get to stay. You didn't doubt your capabilities as a shoggoth before, regardless of sentience, why start now?

With a nod and a small grin of your own, you extended a hand to them and they did the same with a chuckle.

"By the way, if I may ask, what's your name? ....and, uh, what should I call you..."pronoun"-wise?"

Their eyesockets went wide for a split second, before they began laughing a bit. Was your question strange? You started to panic a little and asked if they thought it was weird for you to ask, but they shook their head and stopped laughing nearly as soon as they started.

"nonono, i just--you seemed so awkward, it was kinda hilarious," they wiped nonexistent tears from the same sockets, before grinning at you, getting another hotdog ready before handing it to you. It was a coincidence since you had actually gotten kind of hungry.

"the name's sans, sweets. brother of papyrus and proprietor of both the house me and the others live in, and absolutely _humerus_ puns. nice to meet'cha."

You were going to introduce yourself when you realized. It was a pun. He--the--hUMERUS WAS A PUN. The face you made must've been extremely amusing to him because he began to laugh afterwards at your slightly delayed reaction to the joke. Sighing, you shook your head but smiled at him.

"Well then, Sans.

My name is Y/N, glad to meet you."

* * *

And that's how you ended up here. The day arrived.

Taking a deep breath before exhaling, you gripped the bag you had the first day you arrived in the Monster Village, and slid-walked up to the doorstep. Tentacles writhing and sloshing gently as you moved.

Something about this house was...mildly intimidating, though you couldn't put your finger on it. Apparently, multiple servants had quit working here before, mostly with complaints and nothing but spite for the household. Sans didn't tell you the details of their retiring, but the thought was still mildly concerning. So many servants quitting due to the work environment among other things....

What kind of house was this?

Regardless, you stepped off of the final step of the porch, knocking on the large doors of the estate.

You heard momentary clamoring before silence fell...and then the door opened to Sans in a neater-looking suit, still donned in hoodie and this time slippers. He smiled at you and let you in.

"heya, kid. welcome."

Turning your head away from him to see who was mumbling in front of you, you gasped softly at the sight of five more skeletons. All resembling each other and Sans. Said skeleton stood in front of you with an awkward smile, scratching the back of his head before clearing his "throat" and looking up at you again.

"meet, uh....meet all the people you're going to be convincing this week."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next six chapters will be focusing on reader-chan trying to win over her employers (and obviously doing so thanks to plot armor and the like) and then afterwards i'll be rewriting old chapters from the original story, and doing concepts i never got to do in it for multiple reasons!
> 
> I'm not sure how often I'll update this story, but stick around and maybe (regardless of if you're someone who read the original) you'll enjoy it!


	2. Monday Morning Routines

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You help the skeletons with their morning routines. It's during this morning checkup that you get a small inkling of how difficult some of these masters might be, and also how pleasant others might be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It begins...
> 
> \--
> 
> Hi! I'm still alive, don't worry. Motivation is just hard. Hopefully no one's given up on me and my story yet!  
Fun fact, I had a unique little system I was going to cook up for the next few chapters, but by the time I was getting ready to start formulating said system I realized that it'd totally make the six chapter thing I said last chapter null and void.
> 
> If you're curious it was going to separate the six days of the week (not counting Sunday) for each of the six skeletons to show a segment of them being in awe of Reader-chan's skills and also becoming about 5% infatuated with her  
BUT i realized it wouldn't work so here we go with the actual format of six opening chapters, simply taking place during different days while the reader does different chores. Next up will be helping them with their morning tasks.
> 
> Call this the prologue of the story if you will by the way.

Sunday was the day that Sans let you set up in the house. A temporary set up of course, you didn't get to make yourself too comfortable in the room they gave you. After all, you might need to move out by the end of the week.

However, to ensure you won't be leaving, you'll have the job to prove yourself worthy to stay in this house and work.

So regardless of how Sans let you take it easy on Sunday, what with helping you set up a temporary room, showing you around the place, letting you know their schedules and such, you'd probably be tried hard during the actual week. Not a problem for you, you think. You've served a Demon before, one with multiple cousins and children at that. You should be able to handle serving six skeletons, right?

Nodding to yourself, you settled down for the evening that Sunday night, wondering what the week would bring.

* * *

**Monday: Helping the Masters out with waking up and doing their morning routines**

**What will our slime do today?**

Monday morning, you were up relatively early. 5:30 a.m., as Sans told you that he and the others usually woke up early to be able to work mostly in the morning, then be able to relax for the rest of the day. Sometimes, they might ask you to help work, so maybe today you'll inquire as to what they usually do in order to be able to study up and help accordingly. But for now, that should wait. You have to go wake them up after all.

Help them get ready for the day, as one would say.

After making your bed, straightening up the room, and getting yourself prepared, you strolled up the stairs and out of your room, which was on the first floor. Apparently they had contemplated letting you in the basement at first, but eventually settled on giving you a room on the first floor. Out of the way of the entrance hall and in one of the main halls along with a few other guest rooms.

You thanked them for their hospitality, which garnered mixed responses. They seemed tense, unsure how to reply to you even though your service might only be temporary.

You kind of wondered why. Oh well.

Going up the stairs and down one of the halls, you knocked on the indigo colored door which you knew now to be Sans's.

..

..

..

"Mr. Sans? It's Y/N, are you awake?"

Despite being the one that was apparently asleep the most besides one other member in this house, Sans requested you wake him up first. Apparently he had pretty important work he had to attend to that he preferred to get done as early as possible. From then on out he'd take some naps throughout the day and only have you wake him up unless it was important (things he considered important were things like meals and anything your other employers asked you to get him for.)

With no answer, you came in quietly, finding him peacefully snoring on the bed. Closing the door, you looked around the room as you walked closer to his bed.

The place was pretty standard for what one might expect from a giant mansion's room. He had the usual, a giant closet, a bookshelf that was honestly messily arranged with a few decorations on it (a notable one was a simple tiny white dog figure holding a blue bone in its mouth) and his dresser. There was something else that caught your attention, though.

A desk, seemingly covered in blueprints and plans and documents. Underneath it was also some tools, but--

Your thoughts were interrupted by a yawn coming from the bed next to you and quickly turned to look at it. Straightening up as best you could, you could tell that no matter how neatly you tried to appear, Sans caught you staring at least for a moment.

"what's up, kid?" he said, slurring his words a bit as he stretched, bones audibly crackling.

"You told me to wake you up as soon as I got up, right? So I'm here to get you awake," you bowed at the waist before standing up with a smile, "Good morning, sir."

He grinned, pleased at your accuracy.....at least, you assume. Sighing playfully, he slung himself out of bed with a tiny grumble, "well, can't argue with what i said i guess," he says, going to his closet.

What you remember of him telling you about his personal routine was that he didn't really need help doing much. From what you've seen thus far, that's right. He's a rather independent figure it seems, the others had their own cliques, based from what you saw. The tiny blue one must hang out with the giant orange one, and the two red and black ones seemed to stick together too. You weren't sure if that was because it was the first time you have been to the household thus, they were unfamiliar with you and didn't trust you as much, or if it was just how the house functioned.

But regardless, it was clear to you Sans was probably the most responsible out of the group. Er, well, as much as you could perceive that sort of aura coming from his general disposition.

Since Sans didn't need your help for much other than getting one of his tighter tank tops over what appeared to be an ectoplasmic belly(? why was that there?) you went to go and tend to his younger brother, Papyrus.

Generally, though, from what you see you only need to help him with waking up. He's glad you woke him up though so he can't say your service wasn't satisfactory.

**You get one star from Sans! 1/5 stars.**

* * *

Papyrus was next on your list of morning assistance. He requested to be woken up early as well, though for different reasons than Sans. Apparently, he just liked having an early start to the day and an early start to the night according to his brief summary of himself and what Sans said to you.

Going to his room, you knocked on the door painted an amber shade, and heard a tired "come in," before you could get out anything yourself. Mildly surprised but not at all dissatisfied, you opened the door and found the skeleton yawning and stretching in his bed. To your surprise, he seemed nearly wide awake already. It hasn't even been an hour yet..

So full of energy, this one.

"Good morning, Mr. Papyrus," you greeted him and he gave you a tiny smile.

"GOOD MORNING, Y/N! DID YOU SLEEP WELL? HOPEFULLY THE BED WAS NICE ENOUGH," he said, his voice did give off immense boisterous energy, yet the tone was soft enough that he might as well be whispering. What a paradox of a voice.

You nodded gently as he got up, "It was a nice rest. I'm prepared to try and serve you all as best as I can this week. I hope I do good," you said with a smile that made him giggle a little bit as he went to his closet.

"GOOD! I HOPE YOU ENJOY AT LEAST STAYING HERE. WE ARE KIND OF ONE OF THE BEST HOUSES AROUND, NYEH-HEH," he confidently posed for a split second before going to get some clothes.

Looking at Papyrus now, he was a bit less slinky and relaxed than the one clad in orange from yesterday, though less on edge and intimidating than the one in black. Looking around his room, it was much like how one might visualize a stereotypical little boy's room, with a few adult influences. The dresser was neatly organized, and so were the shelves in his room. Even the ones with action figures and comics were neatly arranged. He also had a few oddly intricate and complicated tiny wooden statues.

The contraptions that they represented were of course human ones you recognized, but there were little spins on them that made them look unique. It was quite interesting. Did he get those commissioned?

"AH, EYEING MY WOOD CARVINGS ARE YOU?"

His voice broke you out of your momentary trance, looking at him as he finished putting a shirt on.

Continuing with a grin, he laughed proudly, "I MADE THOSE MYSELF, OF COURSE! WITH...UH, A BIT OF HELP FROM ORANGE, AHAHA," he rubbed the back of his head bashfully and your eyebrows rose. He knew how to carve wood?

"Interesting. You're very good at it," you smiled and he looked rather pleased with this, then you continued, "Do you do this for money or..?"

"OH! NO, IT'S JUST KIND OF A LITTLE HOBBY OF MINE. I'VE...BEEN KIND OF SKITTISH ABOUT PURSUING IT AS A SOURCE OF MONEY," he twiddled his fingers together, looking down with a bit of melancholy, "I'VE BEEN TOLD BY A FEW OF THE SERVANTS THAT USED TO WORK HERE THAT IT MIGHT NOT BE A STABLE SOURCE OF INCOME, SINCE NOT MANY PEOPLE MIGHT LIKE MY CARVINGS. I-I THINK THEY'RE ABSOLUTELY GREAT, BUT STILL.... "

You scrunched your face up a bit, before placing a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. "I'm not certain why they'd assume people wouldn't like them. You wouldn't know unless you try, right? Personally, I'd pay at least a bit of gold for you to make me one," you smiled at him. Papyrus made a tiny noise resembling a gasp before nodding and giggling.

"I-I SEE! MAYBE I CAN ASK SANS IF I COULD TRY THAT SOMETIME," he looked happy, and you felt satisfied with this. Boosting confidence wasn't bad all the time.

"...ALSO, Y/N..?"

"Yes, Mr. Papyrus?"

".....C--CAN YOU HELP ME TIE THIS SCARF-DANNA ON?" His hands were apparently too big for this particular one which seemed to be quite thin. Blinking, you chuckled and went to help him tie the back in a knot.

Papyrus was sweet. Maybe you wouldn't mind serving this particular master. As for the others....we'll see.

** You get one star from Papyrus! 1/5 stars. **

* * *

This time you had to wake up who they called Blue in this household. Evidently, he and the others had real names, but most of the people called them by the colored ones in this house so you supposed you should go ahead and call them that for the sake of being proper. Besides, the nicknames might be too familiar or hold personal meaning to each of them after all.

Knocking on the bright blue door, Mr. Blue apparently wanted to be woken up immediately after Papyrus, so you rushed to his room after getting Papyrus's scarf tied.

Although, he seemed to have beaten you to the chase, as right after you knocked on the door, he answered immediately, nearly fully dressed. His figure was shorter than Sans by a bit, though you were pretty sure he was a bit taller than the one they called Red. He was a bit rounder and seemed more "soft" than either of the other two that resembled him, which gave him a cutesy look, you supposed.

He looked you up and down and you wondered what he was doing before he smiled cheerfully, "MWEH, WHAT AN ACTIVE MORNING YOU SEEM TO HAVE HAD. ARE YOU A BIT TIRED?"

You didn't realize it, but your position was a lot more relaxed than what he must've assumed most maids try to appear. Smiling at him, you shook your head and simply put a hand on your chest, "No, this is just my normal posture. I apologize if I appeared lazy to you, Mr. Blue, but I am not nearly as stiff as some human servants."

Blue seemed mildly surprised at your answer, but also reveled a bit in the nonchalance, laughing with a joyful tone, "I SEE! I LIKE HOW RELAXED YOU ARE, THEN. IT REMINDS ME OF MY BROTHER....BUT IN A GOOD WAY-!"

That got a chuckle out of you as he invited you into his room to take care of a few things for him. Looking around the room, it was rather childishly decorated like Papyrus's, but unlike Papyrus, Blue also had a few more "adult"ish things in his room such as trophies and even a few magical looking weapons. Well, apparently Blue was at some point one of the heads of the Royal Guard--possibly still is--so perhaps he had to have such things at home for self defense and the like?

The general tone of the room was rather pleasant regardless, and the majorly sky and baby blue theming didn't make that atmosphere any less prominent. It made it feel rather safe.

Remembering what you were called here for, though, you look at Blue, "What is it that you wish for me to do, Mr. Blue?"

"WELL, YOU SEE, EVERY MORNING I LIKE TO POLISH MY THINGS! MY WEAPONS, MY AWARDS...MYSELF, JUST TO GIVE THEM ALL AN EXTRA SHINE!" He laughs nervously(?) and scratches the back of his head, "I LIKED TO DO IT WITH MY BROTHER, THOUGH WHEN WE GOT SERVANTS BEFORE, THEY'D USUALLY INSIST I LET THEM DO IT, WHICH KIND OF MADE ME FEEL BAD, EVEN THOUGH BLACK SAYS THAT IT'S THEIR JOB."

You rose a brow. Well, that was oddly kind of your potential master, wanting to help them polish the objects instead of leaving them to do it themselves. Though it did kind of "defeat" the purpose of having a servant, you found it was rather nice of him to want to do that. Especially since it seemed most of the other masters except maybe two would just leave you to do it as soon as you're told.

Bowing at the waist, you nod and smile at him, "Very good, sir. We shall polish them so they shall shine the brightest."

Blue looked at you, seemingly not really expecting you to not want to take charge, before smiling widely and nodding. He then guided you to the polisher he uses for his weapons and then his trophies and awards, and then you both sat on the bed and got started.

After that, Blue had you help him polish his skull up as well, to make himself look ready for the day. By the time you were done, his skull was so shiny you could vaguely see your reflection in it, which pleased him greatly. He then reminded you to check up on his brother for a while before grabbing a few more things and racing out, presumably to go work as most of the others did.

Blue seemed to appreciate your presence. He was pleasant, if not energetic, so you didn't mind him too much either.

** You get one star from Blue! 1/5 stars **

* * *

The next Master you had to awaken was apparently the one that had the worst things to deal with. Just in general, not figuratively speaking like he had it hard for some reason or another.

No, he was quite literally a big pain to deal with.

Sir Black, who demanded you call him as such when your "trial run" in this job began, was (according to another member of the household, Mr. Orange) "a giant toddler, teenager, and spoiled adult all in one package," and was one of the most unpleasant ones to talk to. In fact, apparently most of the past workers they had hired had retired purely because of Black, and not due to poor working conditions since most of the time, the others tried taking good care of their servants.

But apparently he was very strict and demanding, not at all gentle, and rather blunt and unforgiving.

Despite this, your old household had many literal children in it that were much past his age, not to mention your old mistress's guests, who could also be rather demanding and high maintenance. You kind of doubt he'd be that bad.

Knocking on the jet black door (which was also decorated by a seemingly custom made, spiked door frame,) you heard a rather loud and annoyed voice shout for you to come in. Once you entered, before you could even greet the man, he was standing in front of the door, staring down at you in a displeased manner. You rose a brow, clearing your throat.

"Whatever could be the matter, Sir Black?"

"....WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG? YOU'RE FIVE MINUTES LATE."

"Am I?" you looked past his imposing figure, taller than Papyrus. Apparently you had indeed spent a bit too much time helping Mr. Blue with his tasks, partially because he was actually rather pleasant to talk to and work with. Bowing in apology, you look up at him with genuine intent to apologize.

"Forgive me, Sir Black. I was tending to Mr. Blue's needs. If I recall, you and Mr. Sans agreed that'd be the most preferable time to awaken you--"

"YOU ARE TO COME TO ME _RIGHT _AFTER WAKING BLUE UP, I DIDN'T SAY YOU COULD SPARE THE TIME TO HELP HIM POLISH HIS _TOYS _NOW DID I?!" he scoffed, "I NEED YOU IN HERE TO DO THAT FOR ME, AFTER ALL," he said with a slightly self-righteous laugh. You stared at him blankly, observing his sharp features, including his fangs and teeth.

He was, for lack of a better word (partially), the edgiest one out of everyone in this house. Even his room was littered with things like chain decorations (well, you hoped,) horror and action movie posters, spiked red decor, and even his bed seemed more like a rather "evil" Victorian aristocrat's bed. The rooms you came to before were much more lighthearted, this was a rather jarring change.

"I see, well, now that I'm here, would you like for me to do so, Sir Black?" you asked, looking over towards his much deadlier seeming weaponry.

"NO, I'VE ALREADY DONE IT SINCE YOU WERE TOO CARELESS AND TOOK MUCH TOO LONG," he said with a huff, "BUT IF YOU'D LIKE TO CLEAN THE REST OF THE ROOM, YOU MAY."

You blinked, then looked at the clock. One thing you were sure of was that he wanted you to wake his brother up, Red, after he was up so that the two could start on their day.

"Forgive me, Sir, but it's approaching the time I must go wake up your brother, so if you'd like me to clean," you extended your tentacles out all of a sudden, causing your potential new boss to screech a little as you picked him up with one, using the others to quickly yet efficiently clean the room from corner to corner, "I must do it quickly."

Once finished, you set down Black as he complained to you about becoming dirty with the slime of your body (which you could control the output of) and crossed his arms, glaring at you, "YOU'RE QUITE BOLD FOR A SERVANT, AREN'T YOU? YOU COULD HAVE VERY WELL CLEANED YOURSELF WITHOUT HAVING TO USE SUCH SILLY TRICKS! EVEN I KNOW HOW TO CLEAN THINGS BETTER THAN THAT!"

Exiting the room after making a trashbag out of your slime for all of the gunk your tentacles picked up, you turn to him as you go to leave for Red's room.

"If that's the case, might I respectfully request that you make things a bit easier for the both of us by cleaning a bit by yourself the next time I'm late," and with that, you went to throw the bag away quickly, before making your way to Red's room.

Unbeknownst to you, Black was in a small daze, before looking rather upset at your sassily respectful(?) request. Well, the others told him to try and take it easily, not to mention there's a chance you did not know how mighty and powerful he really was, and what he was capable of.

Thus, he'll hold back.....for now.

**You very hesitantly got a star from Black! 1/5**

* * *

Next up, as mentioned before, was Red. Black's brother and the second to last one to wake up. Evidently, this was because he was one of the ones that valued getting tons of sleep before waking up, even though both who shared this tiny view agreed that they wanted you to wake them up in the morning anyway.

The door was a blood red, which made it stand out a bit even among the black and spiked door that belonged to Black. Knocking on it, you heard soft groaning from inside the room, and afterwards a slightly slurred and quiet "come in" in a rather heavy accent. You noticed they had slight accents but this one was pretty noticeable, you think.

Entering the room, you were greeted by a messy floor as your first sight after opening your eyes from the bow. Sans's room was dirty, but this one was quite...chaotically so. Clothes everywhere, you could barely see the oddly nice print of the room's carpet. There was also food wrappers spilling from the trashes, and generally the room didn't seem to be taken care of very diligently.

In the just as messy bed, with two of the smaller blankets rolling off of the side, sat up the big guy himself. He was definitely the "biggest" of the short and stout ones in the house, but he was the second shortest as well. Though his intimidation factor still remained, at least, you assume humans would be mildly afraid of the sharp teeth and tired yet passive aggressive glance.

Though this time his face was not curled in a slight grimace, but a smirk as you entered the room.

"heyyy, dollface," he drawled, ushering you into the room with a hand wave or two.

"Good morning, Mr. Red. Did you sleep well?" you ask him, beginning to clean his room out of mostly instinct rather than request. He seemed pleased at this, watching you with what seemed to be a subtle amount of amusement.

"yeah, 'f course i did.....though my mornin's givin' me an even better view~" he remarked, running a red and slimy-looking tongue over his teeth. It took you a moment to realize that he must've meant you. Though you had no idea they had tongues. That was quite interesting.. 

Well, maybe you shouldn't bend over to clean, just to give him a small punishment for staring so perversely. Smiling at him with a hidden layer of annoyance, you simply chuckle and use your tentacles to clean and organize the room, which he seemed less pleased by judging by how his smirk fell a mite.

This one was the perverted one, wasn't he. You knew there might have had to be at least one in such a varied household.

"I see, well I'm quite glad you're enjoying your waking hours. However, you have work to do, do you not? You should get up and get ready for the day," you advise him with a more considerate looking smile, which seemed to bring his smirk back along with a tiny blush.

"you're real considerate, ain'tcha? maybe i will, jus' so i can see that pretty lil' smile of yours again," he says, sluggishly getting up and out of bed, "help me get ready, will ya?"

You nod, complying with his wishes. Though this was the first one that asked you to help him get dressed so far, so that implied a few possibilities: either he was trustful of you enough to let you help with something so personal, or he was just trying to get you to be more "into him." As a part of a species heavily interested and involved in sexuality, the signs were pretty poignantly pointing to the latter.

Though as you stripped him, you didn't find there was much to marvel at visually. Sure, there was the belly and his bone structure, which--despite his height--made him seem more intimidating due to the bigger size, but other than that you didn't find much particularly sexually arousing or anything.

Quickly getting him dressed and materializing more trashbags from your slime, you bowed to him and he seemed a bit dissatisfied by how quickly you worked.

"Now then, I believe it might be in your best interest to meet with Sir Black as fast as you can. He seems to prefer working with you, after all, so we should not keep him waiting," you say with a respectful bow, before guiding your "boss" to the door.

He hummed in satisfaction, "well, at least you get straight to the point. i like that," he commented, "oh, and uh, by the way. orange's room is a lot more disorganized than mine is. jus' thought i'd let'cha know~"

Well, that's concerning.

**You got one star from Red! 1/5**

* * *

Well, here's the final room.

Orange, Blue's brother apparently, took residence here when he wasn't just loitering around the house. According to Sans, he was the only one without an active job, much like Sans himself, so even if he preferred waking up in the morning, he preferred to be woken up last. So that he could get more sleep. You were kind of curious if there was a more specific reason, or if he just preferred rest.

Regardless, here you were, at the deep orange door.

Knocking, you feared the mess that must be in here if Red commented on it being worse than his.

Opening the door, you found....well, it looked kind of like a mini tornado hit the place. Clothes were in piles on the floor, and even the ones in the dressers and drawers were messily pushed in without folding, bursting from the places themselves. There were a few Wal-mart "trashbags" that hadn't been thrown away (though thankfully they didn't seem to be stinky or attract flies yet) and the shelves had disorganization to the max. You could barely see any decor in the room that wasn't covered in trash.

Either this one had no time to clean, apparently..

...or he was just extremely lazy.

Regardless, as you began to work on the mess, you heard grumbling and yawning from the bed next to you.

Awakening and sitting up, the slinky man himself emerged from the heap of giant blankets on his bed. Even laying down, you could tell he was the tallest of everyone, from how big his bed was and how long he himself was. His body was more relaxed and less energetic-seeming than Papyrus and Black, though he also looked more tired as a result.

Giving you a lazy smirk, he stretched as his joints popped with a satisfying crack.

"what's up, kid?"

"It's time for me to wake you up, Mr. Orange. I've woken up everyone else in the house," you say as you clean the still rather sizeable mess of a room. Orange watches you clean for a while (at least, you assume that's what the silence was) before he let out a groan and got up out of bed.

"alright."

Well, he was rather compliant, wasn't he?

Though, you did have to say something about this, it wasn't just something you could overlook.....the state of this room was absolutely atrocious. You were capable of cleaning it, of course, but you didn't want to have to deal with this possibly every day. Who knows how fast such a mess could accumulate depending on what he does--

"Y/N."

"Huh? Oh, yes, Mr. Orange?"

"you spaced out a bit. you okay?" he tilts his head, looking down at you as you look up at him. Yep, he was the tallest.

"It's fine, though, if I may, could I please request something of you?" you ask.

"uh....sure," he looked curious yet mildly worried about what said request might be, smiling nervously. Well, he seemed to be expecting something related to the mess, judging by how aggressively you were cleaning.

"Might you please try to take more care of your room? It'd make my job a lot easier and presumably your own personal life as well," you say. He blinks, then after a moment of silence, he sighs and laughs.

"i had a feeling you were gonna comment on that. just like all the others, huh," he smiled at you with an oddly gentle aura, petting your head. You didn't expect this action, but it made you feel a little nice even though you'd probably never verbally admit it. "sure, i'll try. since you seem pretty genuine about things. i can't promise anything, though."

You smiled as you opened the closet for him to get his clothes.

"As long as you try, I'll be satisfied, sir."

Orange didn't ask you for help with anything other than organization and cleaning, and pitched in a few times albeit in his own somewhat slothful manner, and you were done in time for both of you to exit so you could go about your business for the mornings. Throughout the cleaning, you got to see how contemporary and honestly pleasant his room was, and he seemed to be pretty chill in terms of personality. Maybe a bit slow to reply at times and he did seem rather tired, but, not suspicious or bad.

You feel like he'd be one of your favorites, but at the same time you suspect he may be like Sans. Not a bad person, but not a good one. That was the vibe you got from both of them, but at least they were good bosses.

** You got one star from Orange! 1/5 **

* * *

Your own morning routine was simply cleaning around the house for a little while. The house was huge, and while you were perfectly capable of cleaning it yourself, you thought that maybe at some point you should suggest that they get some more workers.

It was still a bit much for one person to handle, whether they were a super effective slime servant raised by demons or not. Some Kikimora or at the very least, specifically picked monster and human servants could do this place good.

Surely under your training they'd be good workers.

Regardless, now your cleaning was done and all of your bosses were doing their morning work.

Looking at the clock, you noted it was nearly time to make breakfast, so you rushed to the kitchen as soon as you could after disposing of the dirty things, and putting up cleaning supplies. You recalled that they recently had a system of requesting certain dishes via magically "passing" (aka teleportaling) a letter to each other to add onto. The paper was exceedingly big and you could only assume it was because Black sometimes had complex orders.

Thankfully, the paper was in the kitchen as Sans said it would be once everyone wrote on it. Picking it up off the counter, you prepared yourself to cook as you got out all the necessary tools and appliances.

Let's see....what did they want for breakfast?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone wondered how the slime was supposed to look.  
The details of how the slime actually looks (body shape, uniform, etc.) is up to you (honestly originally it was supposed to be a girl and i refer to her as such, but in the story itself it's supposed to be kinda ambiguous), but the basis of the slime's appearance was based off of a Shoggoth monster girl, seen here.  
  
some things about the monster's biology are different from the original monster girl's though.


	3. Tuesday Morning Breakfast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Breakfast has come once again-! Yesterday's was well received, although they gave you simpler orders to fill. This time you have more specific instructions to follow <strike>and they're gonna make sure you do it</strike>!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smoothly segwaying into Tuesday! I know this is kind of a convoluted way to establish things, but it's quicker and takes less time to do than jamming in a whole day's worth of stuff into chapters, believe it or not. That'd take me much longer to do, honestly.
> 
> It already is taking me a long time to get writing done anyway, but I won't specify the details of my burnout here  
so anyway, I hope you enjoy this! I also hope it's not too complex ouo; please tell me if it's hard to process! I'll try not being so complicated when writing.
> 
> (coincidentally, i started writing this chapter on a tuesday)

Yesterday's breakfast was a success mainly because they seemed to go a bit easy on you. You've gotten popular and simple dishes such as waffles and eggs, over-easy eggs and toast, and biscuits and gravy down to a T. It was super easy for you, almost as easy as trying to spell words like "bone" and "tooth" or counting up to five.

Which, granted, maybe some people didn't know how to do those things, but you certainly had your fair share of prep before coming here.

It seemed that after your display of amazing cooking skills that your Bosses-in-waiting decided to give you less simple breakfast dishes, and a few of them decided that they'd like to give you something a bit more complex.

What you didn't realize is that you'd have charmed them so much that they'd like to come and pick up the orders themselves, just to get a glimpse of your work environment and maybe how you make such delicious, delectable meals.

Of course, thankfully you got them to agree to it only being a thing exclusive to this morning for now.

...

"But still, what a bother," you sigh, "Being watched while simply making a meal. It's somewhat stressful, in a way."

Oh well.

* * *

**Tuesday: Making breakfast for the Masters before they go about their business**

**What will our slime do today?**

First off, Sans's order, which was as simple as one could expect.

All Sans wanted was a plate with a few small arrangements of simple meals, two each. One, he wanted two sausage biscuits, specifically with the regular sausage used for things like hotdogs, and not sausage like Italian sausage, which had a bit of a distinct flavor to it compared to regular store-bought sausage. Next, he wanted you to make him a bowl of scrambled eggs with ketchup in them. While this wasn't something that could really easily be served in two's, it was made up for with the last item. Those being a sandwich cut into two triangles, grilled, with cheese, ham, and again, eggs.

Sans seemed to really like eggs.

And ketchup, he asked for some ketchup for it all, as well.

"Well, then. I suppose I shall go ahead and get his meal ready as it's the quickest."

You close your eyes to focus on your tentacles, and doing so, your vision magically splits into all of the eyes on the surface of your body, letting you see and accurately grab every utensil and ingredient you'd need without moving from your spot. As soon as everything was assembled, you got to work, still using your tentacles to help out with general tasks, as even though you could do it without, the multiple perspectives gave you more efficiency.

Using your main body, you began prepping the sausage to make patties, then skillfully seasoning and cooking them whilst the buns baked in the microwave. As well as that, you were currently using two sets of tentacles to stir up and beat the eggs, the pan you would use for them heating up. Another set was preparing the sandwiches, getting the bread ready and the ingredients cut, cooked, and seasoned.

You smiled a little, opening your main set of eyes to look at your progress.

"......hm, yes. I think things are going quite swimmingly."

Though normally you wouldn't use your tentacles nor your lower half's more surreal part (the eyes, more specifically) to do tasks such as this, if they wanted to know what you were capable of doing you felt this would be the best way to show it.

And besides, you had to prove yourself, no? This would surely be a good way to do it.

Suddenly, you hear what sounds like a whistle from behind you as someone entered the kitchen.

"well, damn. color me in _bonefied_ surprise."

You grimaced but smiled and shook your head somewhat affectionately as you turned to Sans, who was grinning smugly as he awaited your comment.

"...very nice, Mr. Sans. As cheesy as ever," you say, and then he laughs a bit which causes you to look at him in confusion. "What did I say?"

"you unintentionally made a pun, kid-!"

"............................oh."

Despite this, you laughed a bit (in mild embarrassment) at your unintentional food joke as Sans snickered, before taking a breath and straightening up. His hoodie did the opposite, which you found amusing.

"i didn't expect that you'd be so intuitive with the work, though, sweets. it's a pleasant surprise, though kind of a surreal one," he waltzes over to you as you finish up his meal, clicking his surprisingly existent tongue, "guess you really are _maid_ for the job, huh?"

"Why, I'd like to believe s--ohhh, you," you turn to him somewhat cheekily, playfully glaring at him as he laughed joyously at your reactions to his jokes. Which, from what you've seen, were a tad more accepting than half of the house. You hoped that deep down he appreciated this at least a little bit.

"Anyway, yes, I'd like to hope I at least seem fit for the job of being the head servant of a house such as this," you say to him, "If you request me to show what I'm truly capable of, then I will oblige. It's just in my general nature to follow those who are in authority over me," unless they had some sort of irredeemable morals that is. You feel other Shoggoth might be willing, but not yourself.

"fair enough," was his brief reply, "i think you got a lot of promise, honestly," he leans against the one counter not covered in supplies and tentacles, picking what you assumed was his "ear cavity" as he called it, "hopefully the others think so, too, y'know? you're no bad person or anything, i think."

"I'd like to believe I'm not, either," you smile back at him and he smiled back. A genuine smile, not like the small grins or smirks he flashed you at the interview back in the village.

"Your breakfast is ready, by the way," you tell him after swirling around some ketchup on the eggs, retracting most of your tentacles to slide-walk over and give him the silver platter. He took a good whiff of the food and examined it--the brown and juicy looking patties sandwiched by two golden-brown biscuits, the golden tint of the eggs with visible specks of pepper you sprinkled in, and the sandwich which was finely toasted, with melty cheese spilling slightly from the sides.........

....it was good.

He smiled and winked, "thanks, kid, it looks great," he turned towards the door and began to exit, "you did good on today's first meal, like i thought. now, if you'll s'cuse me--i gotta go _ketch up_ on my work," he looked back with a wink before gently kicking the door open with his foot to let him slip out.

You smiled after him.

Only to have that smile slowly fall into a squiggly attempt not to smile at how stupid the joke was.

** You got one star from Sans! 2/5 stars**

* * *

This time, you had to make Papyrus's food. His order was a bit more complicated though you once again assumed it might be because he wanted you to be a bit tested. He requested that you make him some macaroni and cheese with bacon and peppers strewn in, although he also asked that you quickly prepare some garlic bread and make him a smoothie as well.

Whilst he gave you the order, he seemed to worry that it might be a bit much for some reason.

Why, a simple dish array such as that takes no time at all.

Once again, after quickly washing the dishes (and sneaking a drink of the faucet water using one of your tentacles) you began to cook.

First off you decided to put the garlic bread into the oven since another one of your bosses had requested for it and also garlic bread seemed to be a wildly popular dish. By the chance one of your bosses wanted some, it'd already be there. And if not, you could very well eat it for your own breakfast, so it wouldn't go to waste regardless.

The water wasn't beginning to boil quite yet so you might as well start the smoothie--

"Y/N!"

The unexpected voice made you jump, nearly dropping the fruit you were getting out of the fridge. Thankfully tentacle reflexes allowed you to catch it in time.

The unexpected voice's owner was none other than Mr. Papyrus himself. The guy looked apologetic that he scared you, but once he saw you were okay, he strolled in. His expression, however, still remained troubled.

"Goodness, what ever could be the matter, Mr. Papyrus?" You asked, admittedly still a bit miffed by his (unintentional) scare.

"IT'S JUST--YOU HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO TODAY, DON'T YOU? MAKING BREAKFAST TAKES FOREVER, I DON'T WANT YOU TO BE STRESSED OUT ESPECIALLY ON THE FIRST DAYS OF INITIATION!" he exclaims, clasping his hands together, "I KNOW HOW TO COOK. PLEASE, ALLOW ME TO BE OF ASSISTANCE!" he pleas.

Now, you had a very hard time denying a request from any master. Though this was a fine line between request and a simple offer, which made it a mite more difficult.

However, a few times throughout the house, the others told you they held one opinion: don't let Papyrus cook.

Supposedly, he had been given cooking lessons before that only worsened his already mediocre abilities. Thus, people came to the conclusion he was the worst cook while Blue was apparently the best.

Though you're mostly using the terms Red and Black used to describe it. You had no opinion on Papyrus' cooking and Sans said he liked it so it's not like it was a totally common opinion.

Perhaps you could let him help you a bit to help him brush up a bit.

"Alright," you say, clapping a little to get his attention fully, smiling somewhat cheerfully at him (which, you didn't quite catch it, but judging by his expression he didn't seem to expect it,) "I'll go ahead and let you help me prepare Mr. Orange's meal while we wait for the water to boil and the bread to bake. It will not take long to cook after that but if you'd like you can stay so that not only can you get your food but possibly help me prepare his dish earlier as well."

Orange's order was also one of the simpler ones--the boss simply requested a waffle with some eggs on top of it, sandwiched between another one with syrup and whipped cream lathered on top. He also asked for some coffee, with cream and three scoops of sugar and a glob of honey to accompany it--therefore it was the perfect meal to kickstart Papyrus's cooking lessons.

Papyrus looked ecstatic, running over and--well, you assumed he wanted to hug you but--grabbing your hands in excitement. This action surprised you so you looked at him in slight shock as he rambled on and on about how you were one of the first servants to accept him so willingly and that he was going to try his best to help cook and that he couldn't want to help and he was thankful you let him a--

"...OH. I--I'M TERRIBLY SORRY! I DIDN'T REALIZE HOW SUDDEN I DID THIS--UM--ARE YOU OKAY? I DIDN'T GRAB YOU TOO HARD OR ANYTHING? OR MAKE YOU UPSET? I-I'M DEEPLY SORRY IF I--"

"Mr. Papyrus, it's quite alright."

He calmed down a little, though looked at you in confusion until you smiled kindly at him, gently grasping his hands.

"I'm happy you're excited to be able to help me cook. You're an earnest soul."

....

...

..

Throughout the double-food preparation going on, while you let Papyrus do things on his own and didn't baby him, you did give him general instructions, and taught him things that you felt you might need to elaborate on--such as taking measurements for mixtures, what the different types of spoons and cups meant, etc.

He was more obedient than you anticipated he might be, however he also kind of tried doing his own thing at times, which lead to your correction (in a respectful manner) of some mistakes he made, such as accidentally cracking too many eggs than Orange requested, or mixing the waffle mixture a bit fast, or trying to turn the eggs too early. He seemed to learn pretty quickly that you knew what you were doing, so at the very least he listened better after a few beginning mistakes.

At some point, you were also able to begin properly preparing his breakfast, pouring in and preparing the macaroni, and since he himself was there, he was able to tell you specifically how much he wanted added in--how much bacon, cheese sauce, etc.--as he focused on his part of the meal prep which was Orange's admittedly delicious looking breakfast.

"You are doing spectacular, Mr. Papyrus. You're very good at following instructions," you praised your potential boss, smiling at him as he gave you a quiet "nyeh-heh-heh" in response.

"THIS HAS GONE BETTER THAN MOST OF MY COOKING LESSONS EVER HAVE! NO OFFENSE TO ANY OF MY PAST TEACHERS, OF COURSE," he says proudly, smiling at you and chuckling a bit more, "I'M KIND OF EXCITED TO TRY COOKING MORE THINGS NOW. B-BUT I GUESS I SHOULDN'T RUSH INTO IT LIKE I DID SOME THINGS TODAY, SHOULD I?"

"You'll improve as you go on. It's normal to be excited about your future potential when you're successful, so I'm not holding that against you," you say, quietly mixing in the sprinkles of pepper onto the macaroni as you used tentacles to set up the garlic bread.

As soon as Papyrus finished the waffle egg sandwich and got the toppings out, you slid his tray of food over to him.

"Your own breakfast is ready, sir."

"OH! ...SO I GUESS THAT'S IT FOR NOW?" he asked, taking the tray as you nodded. He smiled and giggled that iconic laugh of his.

"I THINK I LEARNED SOME VALUABLE COOKING SKILLS HERE! BUT NOW, THE GREAT PAPYRUS MUST SETTLE DOWN TO EAT HIS GREAT BREAKFAST!!" he grinned confidently as you chuckled.

"The Great Papyrus did an equally great job today making a good breakfast as well. I hope you enjoy your meal, sir," you bowed respectfully as he strode over to the door.

"I BET I WILL! SINCE YOU MADE IT, AFTER ALL."

**You get one star from Papyrus! 2/5 stars**

* * *

You figured it'd be best to finish up Orange's meal as his got started and all it needed were the finishing touches.

It looked decent and from your taste tests, didn't taste bad. You were sure he'd like it regardless of if he knew you didn't make it or not. But, he was also one of the less critical ones...

...oh well. Let's just hope it turns out good. At the very least you made sure the eggs were cooked fully.

The coffee had been brewing for a bit so since it was ready by the time you checked it again, you poured it in and got the creamer, sugar, and honey.

Admittedly, you didn't know if coffee would taste good with honey in it, but perhaps adding sugar to it also made it taste more tolerable.

Regardless, you were just quietly preparing the coffee and using your other tentacles to prepare the waffle egg sandwich before you heard the door open. Hoping it wasn't one of the other masters coming in because they were ready to eat, you were relieved to see Orange casually strut in.

Thank the Demon Lord.

He casually sauntered to the fridge, before seemingly mentally backtracking and looking at you in confusion that turned into nonchalance.

"hey, kid."

"Good day, Mr. Orange. Excellent timing on your part, I have just finished your meal."

Orange rose what could be considered his eyebrows before walking over to you, "oh really..." He chuckled, "the sandwich seems a bit messy. somethin' tells me that you wouldn't let it look lopsided like that."

His observance was peculiar yet--you suppose the slightly clumsy way it was put together was kind of obvious.

You should probably be honest, seeing as if you dodged the question you might get into troubl--

"well, it still looks good anyway. i always knew the guy had it in him," Orange says, looking at you with a slightly smug grin.....eh? Wait, he already knew?! Were they just that smart or did Papyrus tell him??

"How did you figure it out?" you asked, curious.

Orange chuckled, "on my way here to get a snack, i saw him pass by. he seemed particularly chipper this mornin'," he scratches the back of his head as he picks up the tray with what you assumed was magic, gently twirling it around in the field of orange it was surrounded by, "i could only figure that'd be due to a few things--his bro, or him achieving something he saw as great--and seeing as you were in here, well...i could piece together a semblance of what could probably happen."

He continued as you watched him magically play with the tray of food, the bright orange field around the tray keeping it intact and afloat, "of course, i dunno exactly what happened here. and i mighta gotten some details wrong, but," he grinned at you, "i can tell you had a hand in it. you're one nice maid, aren'tcha?"

You blinked, before smiling at him, "You really think so, Mr. Orange? I just do what is requested of me," the compliment was unforeseen however you also guessed that given the majority of their personalities, they might also be testing your responses. It was also a part of the trial.

Regardless, you'd do your best to answer well.

He seemed to realize by your tone that you caught on. He was perceptive, wasn't he?

"yeah, i know," he said, turning to get ready to leave, "but it also seems like you just generally have good intentions, y'know? i like that," he sniffed, rubbing under his nonexistent nose, "most of the others usually stuck purely to the job or acted like they would to anyone, which was....uncomfortable at times to say the least," he looked at you again, "i'm glad you can be honest."

You looked at him curiously. He didn't seem to be exaggerating too much yet you could tell that amongst the honesty in his praise, there seemed to be observance as well. Orange didn't strike you as one to look into things too deeply, so for him to tell you this when you just helped one of the others make him breakfast....either he was much more complicated than you thought, or they were just going by the general atmosphere.

That being one of six bosses trying to see if the worker they're interested in is qualified to serve for them (going off of a bad history with staff in the past.)

"anyway, we shouldn't have talks like this during breakfast. thanks for the food, kid," and with that, he walked out of the room, breakfast now in hand instead of in magic.

You watched him, before turning to the work area again to make Blue's breakfast.

Hopefully you'd be able to give them the sort of things they were starting to expect from you. You'll do your best not to disappoint.

** You got one star from Orange! 2/5 stars **

* * *

"Y/N! EVERYTHING OKAY IN HERE?"

Blue suddenly spoke out, rushing into the kitchen, "I NOTICED BOTH MY BROTHER AND PAPYRUS RUSHING OUT OF THIS AREA AROUND THE SAME TIME EARLIER! I WAS WONDERING IF EVERYTHING WAS OKAY OR IF YOU NEEDED SOMETHI--OH MY GOODNESS."

Whilst he had come in, he didn't take note of the scent of blueberries and cinnamon wafting throughout the air. It was at that point he noticed that you were making his breakfast! He had requested blueberry and cinnamon muffins (separately) decorated with whipped cream and bits of strawberries, a vanilla milkshake with caramel and chocolate inside, and since you insisted on something a bit healthier, he also requested a fruit salad consisting of grapes, pears, peaches, apples, and bananas! Overall, it was a very sweet breakfast in more ways than one.

The muffins had gotten done as soon as he stepped in, so the scents were fresh and strong. Also, he saw the fruit salad sitting in the bowl on the tray, arranged finely by lightest to darkest color, and the milkshake which was neatly stirred and decorated with chocolate shreddings on top to go with the whipped cream and strawberries! He didn't think you remembered he told you that he liked chocolate yesterday! Such a minor detail.

"Ah, Mr. Blue, welcome," you greet him, setting the cookie tray of muffins down on the stove, "Are you here to pick up your food or are you just checking in? Regardless, it's all done by now," you say, carefully plucking out each muffin to set on the plate.

"OH! I WAS JUST COMING TO SEE HOW YOU WERE DOING, BUT IT SEEMS YOU'RE DOING FINE!! EVERYTHING LOOKS DELICIOUS!!" He strode up to you, examining the food, "WHY, IT'S EXACTLY THE TYPE OF STANDARDS I'D EXPECT FROM FOOD!"

"Oh? What would those be?"

"NOTHING TOO UNDERCOOKED, NOTHING ROTTEN, ETC., NORMAL STANDARDS FOR FOOD!"

He hyped it up to be something a bit more intense than that, didn't he.

Regardless, you smiled a little as you presented his breakfast to him, and he hummed in satisfaction, clapping a little assumingly in approval before taking his food, "EXCELLENT! THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR SUCH A FINE LOOKING MEAL! AND I KNOW IT'LL TASTE SPLENDID THANKS TO WHAT YOU DID YESTERDAY!"

You grinned. His excitement was pure, although you could tell he wasn't just being an excited child because of all the sweets. Behind the starry-eyed smile and bouncy motions as he took the food, he seemed to really genuinely acknowledge your skills, which was something that made you feel good. The others seemed to treat Blue like he acted rather childish, but in reality he was honestly quite pleasant and not at all as kiddish. Just easily excitable.

"YOU'RE A GOOD SERVANT SO FAR AREN'T YOU? I'M GLAD SANS DECIDED TO TRY AND INITIATE YOU!" he muses, giggling, "IT'S ONLY BEEN TWO DAYS BUT I FEEL LIKE I'D MISS YOUR PRESENCE IF YOU LEFT, YOU KNOW? I'D THINK THAT'S A GOOD SIGN."

You blinked, again, not expecting such words all of a sudden from your boss. Though, appreciative, you bowed at the waist before looking up at him again, "I am happy that my service is good enough that you'd like me to stay. Honestly, it means a lot." It really did.

Blue smiled at you once again, "DO YOUR BEST!! I'M SURE THAT WITH HOW EVERYTHING'S GOING, WE'LL BE LIVING UNDER THE SAME ROOF FOR MONTHS ON END IN NO TIME!" and with that, he gave you a tiny goodbye nod, before rushing out to consume his meal.

Living under the same roof, huh...

That was a nice way to put it even if you'd mostly be working for them.

** You got one star from Blue! 2/5 stars **

* * *

Well, Sir Black sure wanted to wait a while to get his food, didn't he?

The man asked you to make ham and eggs, BUT, he also wanted a few other meals along with that, and also had rather specific requirements to make the main dish. Alongside ham and eggs, he asked you to make him some hash (not hash _browns_, just hash) excluding the onions and adding extra potatoes along with pepper and parsley, and pour it in a tiny bowl alongside the ham and eggs. Then he requested you make him some tea to go along with it, and make cinnamon rolls for a dessert.

In short he ordered a full service meal for breakfast, how he could get hungry in time for lunch and dinner was somewhat beyond you, but monsters' metabolism works different than humans' so perhaps it wasn't that farfetched.

Regardless, you had actually finished most of the meal, the ham and eggs and cinnamon rolls were all you had to do now.

Albeit, you remember Red had requested a meal similar to his, only with sausage and cheese, bacon, and a bowl of apples. The cinnamon rolls remained entirely the same, so while you were doing those, you decided to prepare Red's meal.

...

...

...

The next thing you know, chaos broke loose as both Black and his brother rushed into the kitchen, seemingly having a sibling argument of sorts.

Though you did your best to ignore them, you knew that at some point you'd probably be summoned to try and break up the argument with your opinions. What Black seemed to forget was that you tried to remain neutral, and always seemed surprised when your answers favored neither sides.

"SERVANT, YOU ARE REQUIRED TO BREAK UP THIS PREDICAMENT," Black boomed, sliding up to one of the counters besides you.

"Predicament?" You asked, not taking your gaze off your task.

"yeah! which is better, ham, or sausage?"

"I WAS TELLING HIM THIS ENTIRE TIME THAT HONEY GLAZED HAM IS A STAPLE OF MEAT. NOT TO MENTION THAT IT SIMPLY TASTES SUPERIOR, AND HAS A BETTER CONSISTENCY THAT SAUSAGE COULD ONLY HOPE FOR."

"a staple. heh, right. jus' tell that to every single person who's fuckin' ate sausage before. they've used it in biscuits, gravy, people fuckin' love sausage hot dogs--clearly we know which generally tastes better and is more loved, yeah?"

"Sirs."

They turned to look at you, both having a glimmer of hope that you'd be on their side.

"I hate to inform you of this, but sausage and ham usually come from the same animal--pigs."

* * *

The two then just stood and watched you work from different corners of the room. Their argument settled and they both just seemed to accept that their scrambles were getting sillier.

"SERVANT, WHY DON'T YOU EVEN HAVE A BIT OF AN OPINION ON THIS SORT OF THING??" Black suddenly asked, "DON'T TELL ME THAT YOU'RE JUST DOING IT TO APPEASE TO THE MASSES."

Red snorted, "i assumed you did it cuz you're such a nice person. didn't want to tear people apart by takin' sides."

You hummed, "Those may play a part in it. Though, generally I'm genuinely being neutral. Not only is it part of my job, but taking sides when I'm supposed to solve an argument shall make it worse, shouldn't it?"

You got the cinnamon rolls from the oven, "Truthfully, none of the subjects you've argued about are ones that I'm particularly passionate about," you say, fixing their trays, "And even if I was, I wouldn't want to make the argument more intense by doing so. That's simply the nice thing to do."

The brothers listened, until you came to deliver their trays of food to each of them with a smile.

"Here you are. Breakfast is served," you said gently.

Black's face lit up a dark red for some reason as he took the tray with a huff, "YOU KNOW, THE OTHERS USED TO BE EITHER RATHER BIASED OR CONDESCENDING, BUT," he squints at you, eyesockets narrowing, "I'M NOT SURE IF I LIKE OR HATE HOW NICE YOU SEEM TO BE."

You blinked, then chuckled, "I don't see why I shouldn't be. Not only are you my boss, I feel you deserve to be treated with a level of kindness."

This got his face to light up more as he puffed, turning to leave.

"YOU'RE LUCKY I HAVE T--TOLERANCE FOR YOU, SERVANT."

And with that, he stormed out of the room in what you personally assume was a bit of embarrassment. But you chuckled a little despite that. Sir Black was oddly adorable despite his looks and demeanor.

** You once again managed a star from Black! 2/5 stars**

* * *

Red chuckled, "i don't think i've seen my bro get so uppity over a servant before. that wasn't purely getting on his nerves, that is," he sauntered up to you and took his tray.

"that must be because you're pretty _sweet," _he said, glance flashing to the cinnamon buns before coming back to you. It took you a minute to realize exactly what joke has been made.

"I--well, you and Mr. Sans sure love to joke around, don't you," you sighed, shaking your head with a smile.

"it's a part of my charm, i'd say. you certainly don't seem to mind all that much either," he says, tossing his tray around, "which, uh, is kinda surprising admittedly. not many people seem to like 'em and all."

He clicked his tongue, "they, uh, usually tell me to--in more polite terms kinda--fuck off, at the end of the day. even the servants. i get that i'm an asshole, but, i'm not that big of one, am i?"

You shook your head, "You're not. Honestly, despite how non-filtered you are in the mornings, otherwise you act like I'd assume someone similar to yourself would. You're not overtly perverted and can take no as an answer, even if you seem kind of disappointed."

You close your eyes, "While some things may need more work, I generally don't think you're a bad person. You're just rough around the edges," you look at him and smile.

Seeming to not have expected this, his cheekbones flushed a soft red and he grinned, turning around to leave. Unseen to you, he had a more genuine smile than the flirty smirks he usually put on.

"you're real nice yourself, sweetcheeks."

**You got one star from Red! 2/5 stars**

* * *

Seems like today's breakfast was oddly successful. And you had to admit, it was fun getting to see them, if not a mite bit distracting.

However, you'd definitely have to shut down the possibility of this becoming a common occurrence. Fun or not, efficiency and faster paced working seemed to be a better choice in this house. As much as you appreciated your bosses' company, you found it took a bit longer with them wholly involved.

It was a bit of a lengthy experience......but not a bad one, that was for sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sadly yes I did get impatient and cram both Underfell Bros in at the end. I still think it's good though
> 
> I've noticed that slowly this fic is gaining a bit more traction which makes me happy-! Though it also proves the Undertale x Reader fanbase is definitely not dead on this site which also makes me happy since this community gives me nostalgia
> 
> that being said i don't ship myself with all of the skelebros like i used to (honestly I only find Underswap!Papyrus and Gaster!Sans to be attractive, but that's mostly because nowadays my standards consist of majorly tall boys :P) but i'm glad there's still an audience
> 
> also, I'm thinking about skipping a lunch chapter since it'll essentially be the same as this, but I'll come up with something!


	4. The Madam Rosey Incident (Wednesday)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wednesday's here, and you're just going about your normal chores that they've given you to do around the house.  
Unfortunately for you, a distraction approached you the moment you began to get serious.
> 
> And most of it was because of a bear..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wednesday's here! What shall happen today?
> 
> Honestly, I was worried I couldn't start a new chapter because I didn't have any ideas immediately after posting the other one. I mean I had the idea of making a lunch and dinner chapter but that'd be tedious especially since the breakfast chapter exists and honestly once I realized that I didn't want to do it as much
> 
> also, this and the next chapter are going to be short, 3 skeles each, but i'll explain in the end notes

Wednesday was pretty successful in terms of breakfast.

Morning routines went well, you were able to give all of your bosses a good breakfast as usual, and so now it was time for one of the bigger parts of your entire job here in this place.

The chores.

You had been given a schedule for each day in the week, and it remained largely the same albeit with a few extra small things you had to do at the request of some of your bosses, but that was a fair thing given that sometimes personal treatment or assistance is needed with certain tasks.

You hummed as you took your first chore--breakfast dishes--to the sink after all of your bosses gave you a farewell of their own and went to do their own tasks for the day.

You sighed as you placed them into the sink.

"I wonder how busy today will be."

* * *

**Wednesday: Time to do some chores around the house as usual**

**What will our slime be interrupted by today?**

"MS. Y/N, MS. Y/N!!"

Immediately as you started dusting around the downstairs living room, Blue bursted into the room with an air of desperation.

"IT'S AN EMERGENCY!!" he exclaimed, and you rose a brow, kneeling down a bit to see him easier. He was shaking a little and his eyes(ockets) were wide with what seemed to be a bit of panic, not to mention tiny blue watery orbs that seemed to be tears.

"Calm down, Mr. Blue," you say, placing a hand on his shoulders. He seemed to tense yet ease into your touch and eventually stopped bouncing around in worry, "Now, what ever could be the reason that you're so panicked? Explain clearly," you instruct, wiping remnants of magical tears from his eyesockets.

He seemed a bit mesmerized by what you just did, before his brain caught up with him again and he seemed distressed once more, albeit less than before.

"MY FAVORITE STUFFED TOY, MADAM ROSEY THE THIRD, HAS BEEN RIPPED BY BLACK!!" He exclaimed, holding up a moderately sized stuffed bear with a Victorian themed dress, "I-I LEFT HER ON THE COUCH IN THE UPSTAIRS LOUNGING ROOM, AND THEN I CAME BACK AND HE WAS HOLDING HER AND THE RIP WAS THERE AND--"

The bear had a tear in her chest and it looked rather miserable, you felt that if the bear were to ever have a spirit inside of it, that the spirit would not be pleased with its body's current state.

Meanwhile, this was the first time you've seen Blue so distressed over something you'd associate Mr. Papyrus being more concerned over. Nonetheless, you smiled and sat Blue on one of the armchairs with your tentacles, some of the others reaching over into a sewing box that sat next to the fireplace as you slid to another armchair close to his,

"Don't fret, Mr. Blue. Madam Rosey will look as good as new," you reassure him, and he looked at you in curiosity.

It was then that you began working on the bear.

Taking out the necessary items from the box, you held the bear with two of your tentacles while using your hands to carefully and meticulously repair the bear, sewing up every little rip and tear that had become a part of her body. Blue watched you in awe as you worked, seeing the tear practically become nonexistent. Why, it looked a bit better than it had when he got it the first time!

When you were finished, you handed the bear back to Blue and he looked over it to see if he could find _any _traces of messy work at all, what with how fast you moved. Not a single sign of damage or repair was to be found! It really was as good as new, if not better!

The dress even had a tiny bow on the center of its dress, which wasn't there before. He smiled a bit at it, realizing you must've added it there to cheer him up. Sitting straight, he patted the bear on the head before looking at you with a smile.

"SHE LOOKS ABSOLUTELY PERFECT!! HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO MAKE HER LOOK NEW AGAIN?" he asked.

You chuckled, "I just did what you asked me to. It's nothing too special," you say. He scoffed in what seemed to be offense.

"NOTHING SPECIAL? I'D BEG TO DIFFER," he said matter-of-factly.

You couldn't help but feel slightly flattered, though part of you didn't know if he was happy because the bear was fixed, or genuinely impressed by your skills. Though, maybe it'd help to be more open to compliments of your abilities now and again.

Regardless, Blue spoke up soon again, "THANK YOU, MS. Y/N. I'M SORRY I GOT SO PANICKED," he laughed nervously, "MADAM ROSEY MEANS A LOT TO ME."

"Oh?" you say, as you cleaned up the area and put the box back where it belongs, getting up to continue cleaning the room, "I see. Sentimental value is a great thing, indeed," you nod, smiling, "I'm glad to see that still holds up even in a household as.....mildly sophisticated as this."

Blue grinned, "OF COURSE! WE MAY BE CHAOTIC, BUT WE CAN BE GENTLEMANLY TOO! SOMETIMES."

He watched you as you chuckled, before looking at the bear again, "...THOUGH, HONESTLY. SHE'S ONE OF THE FEW THINGS I LOSE MY COOL OVER," he muses, tapping the bear's shiny, black little bead nose, "SHE WAS ONE OF THE LAST GIFTS MY FATHER GAVE ME..." he sighed, "...HE'S STILL AROUND, THOUGH. I JUST HAVEN'T SEEN HIM IN A WHILE! SO DON'T WORRY, OR ANYTHING!"

It's as if he knew you'd question that at some point.

Nonetheless, you had no real need to poke more into their family business, so you simply nod, "I see. Well, at least that's good," you say.

"I'm not sure who your father is, but I have no doubt that wherever he might be, he's thinking of you as much as you are of him," you say, maybe hoping to ease his mind a bit after what happened. Childhood gifts or gifts given to those you haven't seen in ages held lots of value for some people, and Blue definitely seemed to be one of those people.

You didn't notice as you were cleaning, but when you said that, Blue stared at you in slight awe. A light cyan shaded his cheeks a bit as he smiled, feeling his SOUL get just a bit lighter as he stood. "YOU'RE RIGHT!"

He then went to walk out of the room, but stopped before reaching the door and looked back at you, "....THANK YOU, Y/N," and with that, he exited the room entirely. You watched the door close and blinked, but smiled.

Well, at least you helped one of them feel extra happy today.

**You got one star from Blue! 3/5 stars**

* * *

You figured getting the situation with Rosey out of the way might make your day a lot easier. You got Blue's side of the story--seemingly he panicked and ran out before he could ask Black (or Red, who was apparently a witness) for any context, simply set on repairing his beloved childhood gift.

Now you just needed to ask Black his side.

You knew that Black wasn't entirely bad. He was rough around the edges in many places, but he was definitely not the worst person in the world.

But regardless of your own personal opinion of him, his side wasn't looking all that innocent right now.

You couldn't find him after a while, so you took to cleaning each of the bosses' bedrooms' personal bathrooms right now. It was when you walked out that you saw the skeleton in question enter.

"Sir Black--"

"AAAUEUEDON'T COME ANY CLOSE.....R," he stood still, in a rather defensive yet comical position.

You both just...stared.....and stared....and stared.

You opened your mouth to speak after a while but he cut you off with a loud sputter of embarrassment.

"DON'T SAY ANYTHING IF YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE A MOCKERY OF ME!"

"I had no intention whatsoever of doing that, Sir Black."

"YOU WERE GETTING READY TO LAUGH. I COULD TELL."

....well, maybe just a little bit. You chuckled and he growled until you spoke again.

"It was just a little cute, how you reacted."

His face got even more crimson until he grumbled out noises, and then faced you with crossed arms and an annoyed expression, "WHATEVER. WHAT IS IT THAT YOU WANT? YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE CLEANING."

"I'd like to ask you a question on behalf of Mr. Blue," you spoke, clasping your hands together, "What happened with Madam Rosey?"

He flinched, suddenly looking oddly guilty. It took him a moment, but he crossed his arms and glanced away, sitting on his bed.

"...IT WAS AN ACCIDENT," he says, "...I WALKED IN AND I SAW RED WITH HER. I-I JUST--ASSUMED THAT HE WAS TOYING WITH IT SINCE HE TENDS TO TREAT STUFFED ANIMALS WITH A LEVEL OF COMEDY. BLUE HAS MENTIONED MULTIPLE TIMES HE DOES NOT TRUST OTHERS WITH IT, NOT EVEN HIS OWN BROTHER. SO, I WAS JUST...TRYING TO LOOK OUT FOR HIM," he confesses, before immediately turning to him, "B-B-BECAUSE I AM A MAN OF RULES, AFTER ALL. DESPITE HOW AMAZINGLY DIABOLICAL I AM, I CAN RESPECT SOMEONE'S PERSONAL RULES AT THE VERY LEAST!"

You rose a brow. Something so chivalrous was something that supposedly wasn't like Sir Black to do or feel. Nevertheless, regardless of whether or not he was proud of it, it showed that he did care for the other people in this house enough to do something for them. You suppose his fingers being sharper than the rest was simply the cause due to ripping it away from Red so suddenly.

"I see. Well, I'm not sure tearing it away from Red without thinking was the best thing to do," you silenced him with a finger before he could argue, leaning down to look him in the eye(light)s, "But, I'm sure Blue will appreciate your efforts to keep Rosey safe. Since Red was also involved, I'll make sure everything's understanding on his end, okay?" you say with a reassuring smile.

He blinked, and then his face grew crimson again as he huffed and turned away, propping his head on one of his hands, ".....WHATEVER. DON'T TELL THEM I SAID ANYTHING OF THAT SORT OR I'LL PUNISH YOU. GOT IT?"

You nod, bowing, "As you wish, Good Sir."

You picked up your cleaning supplies, bowed to him again, and then left the room. What you didn't take into account was that your boss had watched you leave, with a gaze softer than normal. One filled with slight thankfulness and relief at how you took the situation.

Maybe he was beginning to like you more than he let on, too.

** You got one star from Black! 3/5 stars **

* * *

Finally in the short saga that was the Madam Rosey situation, you found Red. You had been planning to question him, but throughout the day he seemed to be absent for most of the afternoon. You did hear that he prefers to work during the afternoon as opposed to the morning sometimes. But he was the focal point of the entire ordeal, whether he meant to be or not.

Continuing to clean the hall leading to the upstairs living room, while you weren't sure if Red was still here, you observed that he likes to lounge in places for rather long amounts of time after he's gotten what he wants to done. Once you found him in the dining room nearly asleep next to an empty plate after because he was too lazy to do anything but get a drink after lunch.

Surely enough, Red was still in the upstairs living room. Albeit, it might be fair seeing as the situation with Rosey happened within the span of about fifteen minutes at most. He seemed exhausted and you could only assume it was because of that.

You decided to give him a bit, cleaning the room surrounding him. It wasn't til you pulled out the vacuum that you heard him heave himself up.

"Ah, Mr. Red," you called to him, going to him after standing the vacuum straight. He stopped with a big sigh and turned to you with a look of exasperation. You caught up to him in a nonexistent chase, looking at him, "Might I ask what happened with the stuffed bear this morning?"

He groaned, covering his face with a hand and sliding said hand down slowly, "jesus, i thought we got over that," he sighs, "it was just a load of trouble, first black, then blue..." he shook his head, "i bet'cha want to accuse me, too, huh?"

You blinked, shaking your head, which seemed to surprise him mildly.

"I simply wanted your side of the story so that we could resolve it easily," you say, "After all, it'd be unfair to you to assume you had bad intentions off the bat, I'd think," you say, putting a finger on your cheek and tilting your head, "So, if you wouldn't mind explaining what you were doing with the bear.."

He blinked, then scoffed with a slightly red-faced smirk, seemingly embarrassed that such a simple event blew up like it did. Well, you would be, too.

"i just saw her hat fell off and i was puttin' it back on. i know blue doesn't like anyone messin' with it, but..." he shrugged, "i saw it as just a small favor, then black came in and made a spectacle of it and you know how that went," he made some hand motions in emphasis, "....god, i feel stupid saying this."

You smiled, "Well, clearly you cared enough to do something," you close your eyes as you bow at the waist, "That's an admirable quality. I'll be sure to clear it up with them at some point in passing."

He looked at you, then grinned nervously and chuckled even more so, "...yeah, sure."

You chuckled and he looked at you as you stood straight, "You know--for the tough demeanor you and Black like to put on, you're both oddly caring if you want to be, aren't you?" you ask, "I'm really glad you don't dislike everyone here."

Red huffed, crossing his arms, "what, is that like, a foreign concept? us bein' nice?" he chuckled, "...well, i mean--it wasn't always like that, but. we found out more stuff about each other than we thought we knew and, well..." he shrugged, "...i guess it just came with the discoveries we're all more connected than we thought," he says, "but i'm not explainin' that shit to you. i dunno you well enough to trust you like that~" he teased.

You grinned, "I see, that's fair."

With that, the case was closed, and you decided that since you were nearly done cleaning that you'd go find the other two involved to explain the situation to them. But, before that, you turned to Red just as you opened the door to exit with him, "....but, maybe one day I will be. Wouldn't that be something?" you wink at him and his face lit up red, eye(socket)s widening in surprise. But he grinned at you flirtatiously.

"i'd like that, maybe we could get close enough to have candlelit dinners and a few tongue twisters too, eh~?"

"Don't push your luck so early."

** You got one star from Red! <strike>And an offer for some "free time" at a cafe with him</strike>. 3/5 stars **

** The rest of the day carried on normally once the Madam Rosey situation was properly concluded, and your other three bosses gave you a star for handling it so professionally! Along with the great service along with it as usual. 3/5 stars for Sans, Orange, and Papyrus each! **

...

...

...

All of this over a teddy bear's ripped chest, huh..

You couldn't help but smile at the end of the day as you settled into bed. Even though it happened relatively early compared to right now, it was such a distinct event so far, nothing like that has happened yet in the time you've worked here.

....you're not quite sure you're prepared just yet for things to get potentially more chaotic, however.

"...I'll find out a way to deal with it somehow, I'm sure."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes, this is really short. do i know what i'm doing? no, but the other segments felt better being in their own chapter as once i put them all together, it felt dissonant. please forgive me!
> 
> i did my best to try and meld them together, but they didn't seem to match each other no matter what, so i just gave you guys a technical two-parter of two days (Wednesday and Thursday) and hopefully made their admiration for Reader advance realistically despite the limit.
> 
> These two chapters may be more subpar though, and I'm still sorry for that u.u;;;;


	5. Breaktimes and Bonding (Thursday)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You kind of mess around a bit with Papyrus, Sans, and Orange on Thursday afternoon. With varying degrees of tone, but at the very least you got some bonding time with them each, which was mildly nice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the modified supposed second/third half of the last chapter that I decided to make its own thing, because it didn't fit the tone of last chapter
> 
> as such it might feel kind of subpar and especially short since not all 6 of the masters were written for
> 
> on the bright side, I take a while to update so at least it's furthering the story in short bursts! The next chapter will be longer, don't worry, I've planned out the prologue's (pre-)finale more than anything else

** Nothing particularly worthy of note happened in the morning this time. **

** Thursday: Same routine as always(?) **

** What will our slime do today? **

"Ah, Mr. Papyrus," you greeted your boss in the hall as you went to the upstairs greenhouse(? how else to describe a room with plants as the focus..) room to check on all of the plants. He seemed to be entering to have a small tea break or so, which made you feel a bit bad for suddenly startling him with your presence.

Nonetheless, he smiled at you and turned to you curiously, "HELLO, Y/N! LOVELY DAY, ISN'T IT?"

"Indeed. You're home earlier than I thought you'd be," you note, looking at the clock, "Normally you're here right before noon."

Papyrus took a moment to examine you before smiling, "I WAS LET OFF EARLY TODAY BECAUSE ONE OF THE TRAINERS HAD A STOMACHACHE! APPARENTLY IT WAS FOOD POISONING, ONE OF HER PERSONAL CHEFS WASN'T CAREFUL ENOUGH WHEN PREPARING HER LUNCH. I HOPE SHE GETS BETTER SOON," he says as his face contorts with a tint of worry.

You smile sympathetically, patting his shoulder which made him smile at you once again, "I'm sure she'll be just fine," you reassure him, "Well, I'm glad you're doing okay. But unfortunately, I must get back to work," you sigh, with a hint of tiredness. It took you a moment to realize, but Papyrus had been observing you the entire time you've been talking to him, leading to one rather wholesome moment:

"PARDON MY ASKING, Y/N, BUT YOU SEEM A LITTLE TIRED," he says, "I DON'T USUALLY SEE YOU SIGHING IN EXHAUSTION."

"Well, I'm not exhausted," you say, "But I suppose at some points it can get tiring rushing around a house as big as this. Even though I'm capable of doing so," maybe you overestimated your abilities when it comes to cleaning on the go.

Papyrus patted you on the head, and then grinned at you, "WHY NOT JOIN ME IN THE GREENHOUSE FOR A BREAK? I'M SURE IF THE OTHERS FOUND OUT, THEY'D BE OKAY WITH IT AS LONG AS I TOLD THEM I LET YOU DO IT!" well, you've taken breaks before and they haven't seemed to notice often. Regardless, the offer was oddly sweet.

"Well, I'm not sure. I still have laundry to do, I need to freshen up the back and front yards, and it'll be lunchtime in a few hours--"

"Y/N. PLEASE. YOU NEED BREAKS EVEN IF YOU'RE A PERFECT SERVANT! I KNOW YOU HAVE LIMITS TOO," he said, gently grabbing your hand and dragging you into the room. You didn't take much time to appreciate how nice and lovely the room looked, especially when the glass panels and vibrant plant colors mixed with sunlight. It was oddly pleasant and you felt more relaxed when you walked in.

"Well, if you insist," you say, following him to the rather large tea table in the middle of the indoors garden. He pulled your chair out for you like a gentleman might, before going over and getting the tea from a small cabinet kept under said table. Asking you for your preferences (drinks, snacks, etc.) he simply pulled out a small box of cookies, plates, and a container of water they kept under it.

It was made so that the servants didn't always have to serve them--both for their benefit and the workers'--and apparently it was just easier that way. They all knew some form of heat magic, too, so it was relatively beneficial.

Papyrus chatted with you about things as he boiled the tea, until it was finally ready and he poured himself a cup, leaving you to choose whether or not to drink it.

"HAVE YOU BEEN ENJOYING IT?" He asks after taking a sip of his tea. You'd question how it didn't just leak out of him, but clearly their bodies had magical properties.

"Enjoying what?"

"WORKING HERE, OF COURSE!"

You hummed, putting a finger on your chin, "Well. It has its ups and downs, and it's certainly not the easiest sort of job I could pick. And everyone here is somewhat particular about certain things at certain times..." you close your eyes, and for a second you feel his worried gaze staring into you, but then you open your eyes with a smile, "But, it's nothing I cannot handle. I guess you could say it's one of the better opportunities for a new job I think I could have had? In a way."

You hum, thinking of before you made it around the Ebott area. You actually had a few jobs before this, of course, but all of them didn't seem to click with you.

You didn't feel any sort of connection between you and your bosses, which was something that Shoggoths sort of valued. You've been here for a few days and yet it feels like you've been working here for weeks already, and you weren't even an official worker.

Papyrus sat silently, and you eventually turned to him, fearing you might've said something wrong somehow. But when you turned to him, his face shone with happiness and he giggled, setting his tea down and grabbing one of your hands from across the table.

"PARDON ME GETTING PHYSICAL, BUT...THAT MAKES ME VERY HAPPY!" he then grabbed your other hand with his free one, gently grasping them as he looked at you, "I'M SUPER DUPER GLAD YOU LIKE WORKING HERE EVEN WITH THE DIFFICULTIES THAT COME ALONG THE WAY!! ...BUT, UH, WAIT--THAT'S NOT TOO FORWARD, IS IT?"

You blinked in surprise, before smiling and grasping his hands back, "Not at all, Mr. Papyrus. I'm glad I made you so happy."

He grinned, then gasped, sitting back down with a confident expression, "BY THE WAY, YOU REMEMBER HOW GREAT MY WOODEN CARVINGS LOOKED, RIGHT?"

"I see them every time I clean your room, sir."

"WELL, I HAD A TALK WITH A SHOPKEEPER IN THE MONSTER VILLAGE ON ONE OF MY TRAINING ROUTES. THEY SELL MEMORABILIA AND I GOT THEM TO ACCEPT MY OFFER FOR ME TO CARVE THINGS FOR THEM TO SELL!!"

"Oh, is that so? I'm happy your skills will get to be fleshed out this way."

The break did not last too long after that, but it was a rather pleasant one nonetheless.

** You got one star from Papyrus! 4/5 stars **

* * *

The break being short, meant that after lunch was cooked, you had to finish the dishes and then Sans wanted to see you for something after the meal, as well.

You requested that Sans wait for you somewhere close by, and he told you he'd wait in the hall leading to the dining room and kitchen, and as promised he was standing there awaiting your return.

"thanks for helpin', kid," he said, leading you to his room as you simply nodded, "i think i might've misplaced my tool kit in a hurry, cuz i was workin' this morning and then had to go to a meeting with alphys, and when i got back it wasn't where i usually put it," he says, "you're good at finding stuff."

You grinned, knowing he might just be too lazy to work himself too hard to find it.

"Of course, sir, I'll find it as quickly as I can," you state as he smiles at you.

"thanks, kid."

You look around the room and find it with relative ease. Sans could get oddly panicked in a hurry whether or not he realized it. He had a tendency to just poof things places and then be done with whatever, in order to get what he needed to do done on time. It was a surprising side of him you thought he wouldn't take as seriously seeing as he has rather lazy habits.

Why, that's why he was asking you to try and find the box for him, as well.

Eventually, though, you found it stuffed between the wall of his dresser, and got it out whilst reorganizing the furniture again. Turning to him, you handed him the tool box and he thanked you with a tiny two-finger salute.

"...what kind of work do you do, Mr. Sans?" you asked, exiting the room with him. He paused a bit in his walking, before putting his hands into his pockets and looking up at you with a brow raised.

"you wanna know all that? it's kinda personal," he yawns, looking where he was walking once more, "...and pretty nerdy, hehe."

"Nerdy? Well, you know I don't really have much of an opinion on things regarding your personal life," you say, "If you don't want to tell me however, that's fine," your bosses kept plenty of things secret from you. With understandable reason, you hadn't even been here for a week no matter how trustworthy you may have shown you are.

You and Sans walked outside in silence for a bit, he was seemingly thinking of what to say. You had more on your brain such as going outside to work on the front yard, but he hummed once you got outside.

"well, i can spill a bit about it. only if you don't think it'd be.." he watched as you began to water the flowers with one tentacle and pick out weeds with another, "...a _chore _to process."

"Well, I--" you paused, and once again, looked at him as he began laughing.

"i-i mean, i don't wanna make any confusing thoughts _blossom_ in your head or anything."

"Mr. Sans-"

"after all, if you're overwhelmed, it'd be hard to _weed out _the few things you did," at that point he was snorting and laughing like a dork. You couldn't help but laugh a little yourself--both at the puns themselves, and how you fell for it for the third time or so in a row.

After briefly scolding him for getting you with his jokes again, the two of you calmed down.

"...well, uh, if you genuinely wanna know--it just has to do with this one weird machine i'm building. for magic stuff," he says, "...i dunno how to explain it without having to give you a whole life story--just know that it's important to everyone in this house, okay?" he smiled, "i'm glad you wanna know more about me though, kid."

You blink, and then smile with a nod of understanding, "I don't know why I wouldn't want to. You're all interesting people, and you were nice enough to let me prove my abilities."

He scratched his cheek, seemingly not really expecting such a warm reaction, but he shrugged with another grin, "i'd say the feeling's pretty mutual."

You looked at him in slight surprise, but before any further questions could be asked, he turned to go away to the garage, seemingly. Waving at you as he did, he looked back at you one last time with a smile, "you're doing great so far though, kid. keep up the good work."

**You got one star from Sans! 4/5 stars**

* * *

It took a bit more time and effort, but you eventually finished your chores for the time being and thus had nothing to really do around the house during the afternoon. No one particularly asked for your assistance today, so you had more free time than the past three days.

Most of the time they'd let you have your own break once you did what tasks they gave you for that period, and even though you had a break with Papyrus, you felt that you worked hard enough thus far to warrant at least another one.

Going to the downstairs living room, you were(n't) surprised to see Orange there, on the couch.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Orange," you greet him, sitting on the armchair closest to the couch. He looked up at you, and that was when you saw that he was doing embroidery. You wondered what origin such unexpected hobbies had.

"y'know, you don't gotta greet me like that when you just saw me a little bit ago, kid," he says with a tiny chuckle, shifting in his seat as he continued sewing. You felt a bit unusual around Orange, since he treated you more casually than half of the others in the house. Even Sans, he had a more businesslike relationship with you thus far.

"Of course, sir," you nod, watching him work.

You both sat in an oddly comfortable silence. The TV was playing in the background, presumably because he wanted some background noise while he worked. Watching the man himself work, his work wasn't as precise as you'd probably do it, but you could tell he was putting effort into it despite how relaxed his body was. His face was focused and he was looking closely at what he did, you could tell by how carefully his hands moved.

It only took a few minutes and he paused, glancing at you.

"you're watching, eh? is it that entertaining?"

You blush a bit, not realizing you'd been caught that early on. Clearing your throat, you nod, "It's interesting. Embroidery is something I didn't take as the type of thing you'd like to do," you pause, "...not to assume anything bad of you."

Orange chuckled, "nothin' bad about it. it's just something i took up cuz my dad used to do it. it looked real neat," he says, "i loved watching how it was done, and his embroidery was some of the best i've personally seen. so, i took it up after a while and now i'm.......decent, i guess," he laughs quietly with a shrug.

You noticed that really only Orange and Blue have talked about their parent(s) before, making you increasingly curious about the others' sides of things, but you felt it was too personal to really prod into it. Once more, you just nodded and smiled.

"I see. You and Blue admire your father a lot, it seems," you observed.

He nods, with a nostalgic smile, stopping for a moment to look at the ceiling calmly, "he's a great guy. i think you'd like him if you ever got to meet 'im," he says, looking at you again, "all of our dads were apparently pretty neat. but don't ask any of the others about that," he says, going back to embroidery, "they're...a bit more reserved about that sorta thing. i feel like i'm almost treading a line by even mentioning it."

You hummed, "I'll keep that noted."

You both sat there for a moment more, as Orange worked and you both talked about random things. It was odd, but despite your relationship being more casual than the others, you felt...at ease, being around him. Maybe it was because he faintly smelled of honey, or because he was more visibly relaxed.

You were broken from your thoughts when he presented you with what he was working on. It was a bookmark, and he had made a tiny you on it with the cloth. It was kind of messy, but you could tell what it was even so.

"here, a present from you to me," he grinned, "even if you leave the place, you'll have a memory to take with you."

You blinked, before gently taking it. You stared at it for a while, before smiling and looking at him with softness in your gaze, "Thank you, Mr. Orange."

** You got a star from Orange! 4/5 stars **

** The rest of your bosses were mildly peeved that you didn't spend quality time with them at some point, but they still gave you a star! 4/5 stars each. **

** Tomorrow is the final day before Saturday, which will be your Judgement Day! Here's to hoping Friday will go well. **

** Good luck, Y/N! **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> by the way, i know it's kind of a thing of the past to beg for comments, but if anyone wants to comment or critique anything or whatever, feel free to-!
> 
> i want to know what people think of the story-! i enjoy reading them
> 
> this is (hopefully) less me begging for it and more me encouraging it, if you will.


	6. Obligatory Valentine's Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your masters want to give you a Valentine's Day gift, but they didn't seem to comprehend that everyone else in the house was on board with the idea outside of their knowledge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Valentine's Day  
*slams chocolate bar onto desk*
> 
> This is something I wanted to do just to keep everyone fed and happy while I'm working on the last prologue chapter and other projects and stuff I want to do  
It is non-canon to the current timeline (that is to say the prologue period) and it's set after everyone's settled in with each other!
> 
> I know this'll disrupt the flow of the chapters, but it's just something fun I wanted to do! Maybe I'll move this one down a chapter once I release the actual sixth chapter.

"well......this's a problem," Sans commented, looking at the other five skeles at the dining table.

Currently, it was just after breakfast and you were washing dishes. What you didn't know, however, is that your Masters didn't in fact get up from the table and go do their daily business, but rather--they were sitting there, one gift in each pair of hands, staring at each other awkwardly.

It was Valentine's Day.

And they all wanted to give you a gift.

"alright, who fuckin' ratted me out to the rest of ya, eh?!" Red points at everyone, sweating only a little bit this time, "i know for damn sure that i was the first one in this house to even think about valentine's day!"

"INCORRECT! WHY, I THOUGHT OF IT A WEEK OR TWO AGO AND PLANNED OUT AHEAD OF TIME!" Blue says, stepping on the table with one foot, "I SHOULD BE ASKING WHO OUT OF YOU RATTED MY IDEA OUT TO EVERYONE ELSE!!"

"""YOUR"" IDEA?! AS IF ANYONE BUT I COULD COME UP WITH SUCH A BRILLIANT SCHEME ONLY A FEW DAYS BEFORE VALENTINE'S DAY," Black stood, waving the tiny gift box around as he crossed his arms, "IT IS OBVIOUS TO ME THAT ALL OF YOU HAVE SIMPLY DECIDED TO COPY MY IDEA TO GET A CERTAIN SOMEONE A GIFT FOR VALENTINE'S DAY!! WHY, YOU LOT ARE ALREADY QUITE SUSPICIOUS, SO IT DOESN'T SURPRISE ME!!"

"a certain someone?" Orange speaks up, getting everyone else's attention, "it wouldn't have happened to be Y/N, would it?"

Everyone froze. And they just kind of stared at each other.

......

".............i just thought it'd be nice to get 'er something to thank 'er for her work here so far," Sans comments nonchalantly, ignoring the slight blue that brightened his cheekbones, "but i felt like it'd be kinda unusual to give her something that wasn't money on a normal day."

"I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE NICE TO DO SOMETHING FOR HER SINCE SHE'S ALWAYS DOING SOMETHING FOR US!! ...SO I SUPPOSE I SHARED MY BROTHER'S MOTIVATION," Papyrus sheepishly smiles.

"I WAS HOPING MAYBE I COULD MAKE HER SMILE A LITTLE MORE! SHE HAS SUCH A LOVELY SMILE, BUT SHE'S ALWAYS SO CALM AND SERIOUS SO I BARELY GET TO SEE IT WHENEVER SHE'S OUT ON THE JOB!" Blue says, eyelights sparkling and cheeks bright cyan.

"i just got a buncha chocolates from friends and i wanted to share some with her," Orange remarks whilst showing off a tiny bag full of the candy, garnering somewhat jealous, somewhat intrigued stares from everyone else. Though, him being himself, he just chuckles and leans back in his chair.

Red sighs, setting his gift down and pouting a little as he mumbled, "i was hopin' maybe this would be a good chance to ask if she wants to do somethin' fun one of these days," he says quietly.

"WHAT WAS THAT?" Black looks at his brother, who flinches and shoots straight up in his chair with a reddened face.

"I-I SAID, i just wanted to do somethin' nice for her since like--you know, ahaha--fuck me," he sighs, coaxing a box of chocolates from Orange and munching on them in flustered frustration.

Black huffed, "YOUR MOTIVATIONS ARE PURELY IDIOTIC. CLEARLY YOU SHOULDN'T GIVE CHOCOLATE OR GIFTS TO SOMEONE TO BE N I C E," He remarks, clenching the box in his clawed hands dramatically, "CLEARLY, YOU SHOULD GIVE SOMEONE SOMETHING ON VALENTINE'S TO ASSERT THE CONCEPT OF YOUR AVAILABILITY! AN EASY MANIPULATION TACTIC!"

"MANIPULATION TACTIC?!" Blue looked shocked, speaking in a protective tone, "WHY WOULD YOU WANT HER TO BE MANIPULATED BY THIS?!"

Black sputtered a bit, not expecting such a powerful response, before huffing again, "W--WELL, LIKE I SAID! IT ASSERTS THE CONCEPT OF YOUR AVAILABILITY! IF YOU GIVE SOMEONE CHOCOLATES OR GIFTS ESPECIALLY ON A DAY WITH SUCH BIG SIGNIFICANCE, THEY'RE SURE TO PINE AFTER YOU A LITTLE BIT, YES?"

The room went silent as small agreements, debates, and comments broke out. Black grinned, leaning forward, "YOU'RE NOT EXACTLY DENOUNCING MY CLAIM, NOW ARE YOU?" he says smugly, sitting down and crossing his legs as if he was a queen. "YOU KNOW THAT EVEN IF IT'S NOT IMMEDIATELY ROMANTIC, IT OPENS UP THE POSSIBILITY! THERE'S ALWAYS A CHANCE THAT ONE LITTLE ACTION WILL SOMEDAY LEAD TO K...........K.......KISSING!!!" he seemed rather childishly excited at the thought, before realizing he was in front of others and tensing up once more.

"....well, i guess there's a possibility that's true," Orange spoke up above everyone else, making them look over at him. He huffed, getting out a candy from his pockets--what looked like a sucker pop--and putting it in his mouth to gnaw at the stick, "but i don't think it's good of us to think that one gift will suddenly make 'er interested in us," he says.

"OH, THAT IS TRUE. I-I'D LIKE TO THINK THAT IT'D MAKE SOMEONE MORE INCLINED TO WANT TO DATE ME, BUT THAT'S NOT HOW LOVE WORKS ACCORDING TO EVERYTHING ELSE I'VE SEEN!" Papyrus says, "BUT WE SHOULDN'T JUST GIVE THIS BECAUSE WE WANT Y/N'S AFFECTIONS! I THINK IT'D BE GOOD TO GIVE IT JUST ON THE BASIS TO SHOW HER WE CARE!"

Red looked at everyone as they began to come to a consensus and then chuckled, scratching his cheek a bit, "...i guess valentine's is kind of a corporate tactic, eh?" he laughs, "fuck, man. i got this chocolate from a goddamn sale in town, even..."

"CORPORATE OR NOT, I THINK IT'S A NICE GESTURE AT THE VERY LEAST!" Blue says, "MAYBE IF WE DON'T GIVE HER THE CHOCOLATE FOR VALENTINE'S AFFECTION, AT THE VERY LEAST IT COULD BE AS A THANK YOU! LIKE WHAT SANS' IDEA WAS."

Sans chuckled, "i didn't think a conversation about valentine's day chocolates would circle around to me again. not complaining though," he pulls a spare piece of paper from his pocket along with a few pens, "why don't we give 'er a card too?" he says, writing down a little message along with his signature. Everyone else smiled and joined in, except for Black, who seemed a bit discontented at his ideas being shot down.

"you joinin' in, black? could make her day a lot better, you never know," Sans says, floating a pen over to the edgy skeleton.

Black looked at it, before blushing a soft shade of crimson and taking the floating pen and paper, ".........I-I WOULDN'T WANT THIS CHOCOLATE TO GO TO WASTE, ANYHOW. I'M NOT ONE FOR EATING PLAIN SWEETS," he says.

They all filed out of the room slowly after making sure the arrangement of boxes and the letter looked neat enough. Blue and Black even added a few little designs to the letter before leaving, the latter arranging them a bit nicer by stacking them all in a row. After that, they all walked out, chattering in a lively and friendly manner before going back to their work.

Unbeknownst to them, you came out of the kitchen a few minutes after, freshly finished with work in the kitchen. Seeing the setup on the table, you curiously go over to the letter and boxes.

You gently used some of your tentacles to move the boxes out of the way before reading the letter, and you couldn't help the small smile on your face as you read.

_"Dear Y/N! Thank you for being such a good servant for us! I wanted to give you something you could enjoy today, so take these chocolates as a gift! Happy Valentine's!_   
_~ Blue_

_hey, y/n. i had some spare chocolates left over and i thought there'd be no better person to share some with than you. take as many as you want, okay? treat yourself._   
_-orange_

DEAR Y/N! I HOPE YOUR MORNING WAS GOOD! I, PAPYRUS, HAVE DECIDED IT'S AN APPROPRIATE IDEA TO GIVE YOU SOME CHOCOLATES AS THANKS FOR HARD WORK!! ALL JOKES ASIDE, HOWEVER, I DO HOPE THEY'RE GOOD!  
\--WITH LOVE, PAPYRUS

** _hey kid. i thought i'd give ya something sweet to eat since you've been doing real good lately. my timing couldn't have been more impeccable, eh? anyway, hope you like 'em. they're pretty sweet, just like you ;)_   
_from, red_   
**

**Hello, Servant. As Is Customary, I Felt It'd Be Appropriate To Give You Some Chocolate. Yes, I Know, Original Idea. If You Don't Eat It, You Better Use It In Our Desserts.  
~Yours Truly, Sir Black.  
**

thanks for being a good person, y/n.  
treat yourself with a little somethin' sweet, yeah?  
-sans"

You chuckled, storing all of the chocolate boxes (and bag) in your own selfmade slime bag, before exiting the dining room to put them in your room for now.

"They're so genuine, for skeletons that try to act pompous."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this mighta ended a bit cheesily BUT i don't really care
> 
> i tried to give the skeletons writing quirks, did you notice ;)?


	7. Personal Tasks (Friday)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the last day before your overall judgment. Today, it seems your bosses want you to help them out with personal tasks they have to do, with varying levels of activity throughout them all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi i'm (probably) back from a break

Friday, the last day of the week.

This week felt unnaturally long despite how little time you've actually spent at the house. Maybe that was because despite the shortness, you've had plenty to do in this house. Time flies when you don't even realize it, huh.

Anyway, you hadn't planned on it today, but evidently lots of your Masters needed you for some specific occasions today. This is unbeknownst to you, however, this is just the pre-chapter narration!

Enough fourth wall decimating, make haste.

* * *

** Friday: Helping the Masters with some personal tasks **

** What will our slime do today? **

Sans had asked you to come to the garage with him this morning, and you couldn't help but wonder what it was for. Entering the garage with him after breakfast, you looked confused as he went over to what seemed to be an elevator chute...? When did that get there?

"The garage has a second floor?" you asked, walking over to it.

He shrugged, waving his hand in a "kinda sorta" way, "it's not accessible unless you're me, orange, or red," he states, stepping into it once it opens and motioning for you to join him, "you brought the cleaning supplies, right?"

Grabbing them out of your slime, you held up the bucket and cleaning products that he requested of you, "Yes, here they are," you say, stepping into the elevator. Sans smiles at you as the elevator door closes and sends you both down to what you assume is possibly a secret(?) level of the garage. Why it was secret? You had no idea, maybe the others knew about it and you just had no idea they did.

Regardless, it was quite interesting when the elevator finally stopped and you were greeted by...a laboratory.

A really messy, soot-covered one.

Sans sighed in presumed embarrassment, but calmly went to get a lab coat and...put on glasses? This look was different for him. He grabbed a clipboard and wrote on it before looking at you, "if you wouldn't mind cleaning this mess, i should probably try to rebuild my progress," he says, sounding a bit more serious than usual. Not too serious, though, he sounded like he was kinda poking fun at his failures in a way.

Doing as you were told, you begun at the source of it--the place in the center of the wall at the very back.

"If I may ask--what caused this mess?" you had an idea but felt like you should still ask before assuming anything.

"simple. you remember the machine i told you about yesterday? well, it had an explosion cuz i wasn't careful enough and did somethin' i probably shoulda waited for orange or red to give an opinion on first," he chuckled, "i kinda get a bit excited when i think i'm onto something. can you believe it?"

You smile. Sans had things that he was excited about, even? He never seemed all that enthusiastic about things, so this made you feel a bit happy that he had something he could feel that way about. Besides his brother, maybe.

"honestly, it's a huge coincidence you ended up finding out about it so soon. i woulda preferred not havin' to tell you about it at all til' actual progress was made, but i guess ya can't win 'em all," Sans comments, and you hear him messing around with papers and shuffling around the room presumably to organize.

You smile, "I understand. If it helps you feel any better, I won't be coming down here unless you specifically request for me to," you state, looking back at him, "After all, I should make an effort to at least respect your property, even if I am technically running it in some way."

He grins, "thanks, kid. you're a champ."

Walking over, he grabs a few tools from a nearby workbench along with some things that you assume are necessary to making blueprints. You also spot many discarded ones in the few trashcans spread throughout the room. It really seems like there's been lots of work done down here...you're curious about what, but you did say you wouldn't really question it, so it's probably best to stay true to it.

You finish cleaning in a good amount of time, hearing your boss-to-be whistle in the background.

"ain't that shiny n' new. with any luck, they mighta forgotten this was even down 'ere and i can act like i didn't _mess_ with anything," he comments.

You grin, "Very funny, sir. We can just hope they won't explode over the fact it happened in the first place," you say, winking at him. You didn't see it very well, though a light blue brushed over Sans' cheekbones for a moment before he began laughing, guiding you back to the elevator.

"nice one, y/n."

**You earned a star from Sans! 5/5! Fully approved!**

* * *

"Why exactly are you having me tag along with you, Mr. Blue?" you asked, as Blue walked down the streets of one of the many Monster Villages.

"BECAUSE, Y/N. IT'S GOOD TO GET OUT OF THE HOUSE EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE! STRETCH YOUR LEGS AND ALL THAT," he pauses, "........OH, ALSO, BECAUSE THAT STUFF WAS WAY TOO MUCH FOR ME TO CARRY ON MY OWN EVEN WITH MY AMAZING AMOUNT OF STRATEGY AND PLANNING!"

Well, you suppose that was true. In the storage room of the mansion, lots of things were being kept, and some of these things were labelled with stickers that declared their importance. Evidently, this was because Blue (and Black, if you're not wrong) was involved with the Royal Family. The huge family made up of three queens, three kings, and their children. They all ruled over different parts of the territory monsters were given, but that's a history lesson for another day.

The important thing to note is that Blue stores some things he has delivered to his house for safekeeping in the storage room as he's one of the heads of the Royal Guard--an organization of warriors that fight for monsters--and he keeps them until they're ready to be delivered.

However, he fell sick a few weeks before the delivery date of the original load, so now he has an extra one to take with him that you're carrying for him. 10 boxes full of things the royal family needed, and he was carrying 2 of them.

Looking around as Blue quietly rambled on about things, you noticed the amount of monsters and demihumans (another word for mamono/humanoids) that were looking at him. Eventually he noticed and waved to some of them.

"You're very famous, aren't you," you comment, kind of curious about why that was. Maybe it was simply his position as a guard, but the other guards you happened to see didn't seem as popular among anyone but kids.

"I BELIEVE SO! IS THERE SOMETHING WRONG WITH IT?" he asks, genuinely curious.

You hum, "Not necessarily, it's just somewhat jarring. None of the other guards seem to--" you were cut off as a young Kobold girl ran up to Blue in excitement, her mother trailing behind her.

The two had a quick exchange as Blue set down his boxes, shook the girl's hand, and smiled as she talked about how cool he was. It didn't last too long as the girl's mom tapped her on the shoulder quickly after the conversation ended, thanking Blue for his time. Despite how hurried she seemed, it didn't seem like it was because she disliked what her daughter did--rather, it was because Blue was working. She gave him a genuine smile while apologizing for taking up time, unlike the faces of annoyed parents you've seen in large cities where this sort of thing can be more common.

After that, Blue picked up the boxes and directed you to follow him. It was a somewhat quiet trip after that until he spoke up again, opening with a small contented sigh.

"HONESTLY...I LIKE TO THINK IT'S BECAUSE PEOPLE KNOW I'M SIMPLY TRYING MY BEST," he says, hoisting up the boxes more, "OH, N-NOT THAT THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE GUARD AREN'T TRYING. BUT...THEY DON'T SEEM TO MAKE IT VERY CLEAR THAT THEY WANT THE BEST FOR CITIZENS. RECENTLY--LOTS OF THEM ARE MORE SERIOUS AND LIKE POLICEMEN, WHICH DOESN'T ALWAYS MAKE PEOPLE FEEL SAFE," he looks down, and then turns to you with a small smile, "IF I CAN DO MY JOB WHILE LETTING PEOPLE KNOW THAT I'M HAPPY TO HELP THEM, IT MAKES THEM FEEL SAFE AND HAPPY."

You looked at him in slight astonishment as he finished: "AND, WELL--MAKING PEOPLE HAPPY IS WHAT I WANT TO DO. NOT THAT I'M PERFECT AT IT OF COURSE, BUT I AM PRETTY GREAT, HEHE!"

You stared at him for a moment, before smiling gently, "I see," though a lot of people say that, you felt he had more genuine desire in his words than anyone else. Of course, maybe you were wrong, and he was just good at making feel people at that. But there's a chance that what you felt was the actual wish of a man who's trying his best to make the world safer for those being marginalized.

So, you chuckled a little, using one of your tentacles to give him a small pat on the head. He looks at you in slight confusion, though his expression changes to one of slight surprise when he finds you giving him a small, gentle grin.

"I feel honored to potentially serve someone as noble as yourself, Mr. Blue," you say with a tiny giggle, "I feel the same way. Though, I'm not sure if I can keep people safe as well as someone like you could, I want to make people happy. That's ultimately my biggest goal, and I don't intend to exclude you all from that."

Blue's cheekbones flushed a cyan for a moment, though they stayed that way--less intensely--as he chuckled. Your words put a bit of pep in his step.

"THAT'S SO GREAT, Y/N!! AND GUESS WHAT? I'M HAPPY WE MANAGED TO FIND SOMEONE LIKE YOU!" he says with a joyous laugh as you join him with more calmed laughter, ".............OH, BUT CAN WE GET SOMETHING SWEET TO EAT ON OUR WAY BACK FROM THE TRADE-OFF STATION?"

** You got a star from Blue! 5/5! Fully approved! **

* * *

Currently, you were helping Red polish a few of the things in his room--and by helping it was more like you were doing it all, as expected, but he was doing a bit of work himself at times too.

You looked at him for a moment and saw him cleaning what looked like a trumpet.

"You play instruments, Mr. Red?"

At that, he jumped and nearly dropped the thing, looking up at you afterwards with an awkward smile, sweating just a little more than he usually is.

"....honestly, i didn't think you were payin' that much attention," he laughs nervously, scratching his cheek, then lifting the thing up slightly, "usually ya pay more attention to y'er work than ya do y'er surroundings, so.."

"Well, that's true," you nod, "I'm sorry. I won't ask anymore if you don't want to talk about it," and with that, you went back to polishing the medal you held in your hand. There was a slight awkward silence in the room for a while before you heard Red sit down on the tiny armchair in one of the corners of his room. It took a bit more silence before he finally spoke up again, getting your attention as he called out.

".....i--i've been interested in playin' music for a while," he grins a bit shyly, holding the trumpet gingerly, "i've always liked how jazz sounded n' especially how some o' those fuckers sounded while playing trumpet. all the others are interested in it to a fair degree, but like--i'm full-on tryin' to learn actively," he points to the medal you held in your hand--a silver medal.

"i won that a lil' while ago when i was still in highschool," he says, smiling more confidently, "said i was one of the best players there. it encouraged me to full-on pursue music n' shit after all that. i dropped outta the royal guard for it--pissed off my bro, but honestly i didn't contribute anythin' much since i just slid myself into sentry statuam i talking too much? sorry," he says, laughing a bit dryly and anxiously.

"ya prolly care more about gettin' work done than my silly lil' shitstory," and with that, he got up to return to cleaning. You watched him with mild interest before smiling.

"I don't mind hearing more about it."

At that, he froze for a moment, before looking up at you in some of the most genuine surprise you've seen from him thus far. He gulped a little, before smiling somewhat hopefully, "....ya really mean it? like--y'er not jus' tellin' me that because it's what i wanna hear, are ya? not that you seem that shitty--"

"Mr. Red, if I wasn't interested at it, I doubt I'd keep acknowledging it," you say, putting the medal in the small glass case he kept some important things in, "You've known me to be fully honest up to this point--and that hasn't changed. If you want to tell me, I'm open to listening to what you have to say," you smile at him as you grab a few things to clean while moving over to the bed.

Red watched you in dumbfounded astonishment, though eventually a confident and happy smile overtook his features. For the next fifteen minutes or so while you finished the task he gave you, he explained to you about his interest in music. How he first found out he loved music, his revelation of jazz being his favorite genre, how he came to love the trumpet as an instrument (right next to the saxophone) and how even though jazz was his field of interest, he appreciated other musical genres such as EDM, alternative rock and 90s electronic music.

You didn't get much time recently to listen to music, though he showed you a few minutes of some of his favorite songs and you enjoyed a good amount of them. He also played you a small song on his trumpet. You've also learned by now not to question how they can do things like play trumpets as their bodies are magic, though that didn't stop you from wondering in the back of your mind how he's able to play it anyways.

After all that was said and done, Red had a generally happy air about him, and you honestly felt like you two grew a bit closer.

...and also, he managed to go about a conversation without flirting!

....well, you didn't notice that the song he played you was part of a love song, but what matters is you bonded!

**You got a star from Red! 5/5! Fully approved**

* * *

Soon after you were done cleaning for Red, Black asked you to come dust his room, as he sneezed quite a lot last night in bed due to accidentally spreading some with his automatic fan. So here you were now, dusting the shelves and such, getting ready to vacuum the floor after you got rid of it for good.

Black was in there, supposedly monitoring, though at some point he stopped commenting saltily on your work and started reading something that was on his bedside table.

Eventually, you turned to tell him you were done and going to vacuum, til you saw the cover of the book itself.

The cover of the book had what appeared to be a blonde girl sitting on a desk, eating an apple, with a witch's hat. The title of the book read: _Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches_

"I didn't know you enjoyed manga, Sir Black."

At that, he shot up and choked a little on air as he fumbled to toss the thing away, looking at you in embarrassed anger, "W--WHAT DO YOU MEAN?! I DON'T SEE ANYTHING THAT LOOKS LIKE A "MANGO" HERE," he crossed his arms, figuratively fuming, "AND ANYWAY, SHOULDN'T YOU BE FOCUSING ON YOUR CHORES? WHO GAVE YOU THE RIGHT TO STOP AND COMMENT ON WHAT I'M DOING?"

You blink innocently, "My sincerest apologies. It was just that the cover looked mildly interesting, so I commented on it," you bow in apology, looking him in the eyelights, "I'll go vacuum now," and with that, you went to exit the room to go get the vacuum.

Black made a few quiet noises as you stepped away before sighing overdramatically, "...............Y--YOU REALLY THOUGHT IT WAS INTERESTING?"

You turned to him, and nodded, "A little."

"A LITTLE IS ENOUGH, THOUGH," he says, huffing and puffing a little while he picks up the comic again, patting his bed as he scooted over, "I-I'LL BE GRACEFUL ENOUGH TO LET YOU KNOW A BIT ABOUT THIS SERIES, THEN. THOUGH, IT MIGHT BE A BIT...... SOFT-LOOKING, JUST D--DON'T JUDGE ME."

You smile, moving to sit next to him, "I wouldn't dream of it."

Black proceeded to explain to you that the series was about a delinquent who, by chance encounter with an honor student, found out about the existence of these girls called Witches, who had magical powers. Evidently, the delinquent also had a power of his own, and that was that whenever he kisses a witch, he copies her power. The first tiny conflict of the series happened because he copied the main witch's power and swapped bodies with her because of it. He informs you that he read all of the manga and watched the anime adaptation already, though he wanted to revisit it since it's been a little while.

The series seemed relatively alright, though you found it was a little silly due to the fanservice moments that popped up repeatedly and Black agreed he didn't like those. Though apparently he was more here for the relationship between the main lead and the main girl, how it developed and how the characters played off of each other.

Though after that, he looked you in the eyes seriously. Though this time he didn't have the normal somewhat angry look, it was more of a careful and concerned one.

".......YOU WON'T RIDICULE ME FOR THIS, WILL YOU?" he asked. You tilted your head as he predicted your question, sighing, "MANY PEOPLE DON'T SEEM TO TAKE ME AS THE TYPE THAT'D LIKE THIS SORT OF THING. I'VE HAD MANY COWORKERS OF MINE RECOMMEND ME HORROR MOVIES AND SUCH, NO ONE EVER REALLY SEEMS TOO OPEN TO TALK ABOUT MANGA OR ANIME," he leans forward, looking at his bookshelf (which you just noticed had a row and a half full of manga), "THE OTHERS LET ME TALK ABOUT IT, BUT NONE OF THEM ARE INTERESTED ENOUGH FOR ME TO TALK TO THEM IN-DEPTH ABOUT IT."

He glares at you a bit, though he still wasn't angry, "WHAT'S WORSE TO ME IS WHEN PEOPLE LISTEN TO WHAT I HAVE TO SAY ONLY TO MAKE FUN OF ME, WHETHER IT BE BEHIND MY BACK OR NOT. IF YOU DO THAT, I WON'T HESITATE TO TREAT YOU EVEN MORE HARSHLY THAN I DO RIGHT NOW," he crosses your arms, watching your expressions and waiting for you to say something.

You blink, then sit straight again, "I won't make fun of you for liking anime and manga," you hum, pressing a finger to your cheek, "Everyone has their interests. As long as it's nothing harmful or illegal, I shouldn't care that much," you say, standing up again as the time to continue cleaning was slowly upon you, "And you know--as a Shoggoth, I'm not allowed to lie to my employer, even if my job here ends up being temporary. It'd be a hit to my own honor."

You smile at him, "Now then. I'm glad you got to talk about things you enjoy, but I'm assuming you'd like me to get back to work," you say, motioning to the clock on his wall. He looks at it, then you, in somewhat of a silent shock. He clears his visually nonexistent throat before nodding with a grin.

"Y--YEAH. THAT'S RIGHT! YOU BETTER HURRY UP, BY THE WAY. I HATE THE NOISE OF A VACUUM A NEARLY UNNATURAL AMOUNT," he says with a slight laugh, one of the happiest you've heard from him that wasn't him celebrating a victory against someone else or being a sarcastic Genius.

You grin a little as you exit the room, a bit giddy that finally Black was starting to warm up to you in a more obvious way now.

** You got a star from Black! 5/5! Fully approved! Surprisingly?! **

* * *

Right now you were discussing things with Orange and Papyrus. About what, you (the audience) might ask? Well, momentary fourth-wall breaker, you're discussing the plan to start up a small online market of Orange's embroidery work and Papyrus's wood carvings. Though you could very well sell them in real life to stores and such (getting half the profit the store owner does) apparently there's an important project they want to fund themselves, and need as much money as possible to do so.

The others did jobs in and outside of the house, Sans worked a hotdog cart and apparently used to work full-time at one of the restaurants in town as a cashier, though apparently he also works part-time as a scientist for the Royal Family. He also did the science stuff in the basement but you assume that's more of a personal project.

Blue and Black were both involved in different sects of the Royal Guard as some of the highest-ranking members.

Red wasn't employed by any establishments currently so he mostly helped Sans with whatever he needed, you assumed.

Papyrus does some sentry work for the Royal Guard on rare occasions and is evidently a trainee, though has no real job. Orange also doesn't have a real job and, again, probably mostly works with/for Sans down in the basement.

But they both shared a common interest: helping the house stay afloat despite not having jobs. And they figured the best way to do it would be to combine their skills. So, here you were now, helping them set up a small website where they would sell their crafts. They were pretty well-known and famous amongst the general monster community, so there shouldn't be a problem so long as they properly set everything up.

...but right now Orange was getting a few snacks since he and Papyrus already felt exhausted by the time the site's aesthetic and general look was established.

"...so, what got you interested in wood carving specifically, Mr. Papyrus?" you turned to your boss, who went from somewhat exasperated to joyful in a pinch.

"WHY, I'M GLAD YOU ASKED, Y/N!" he says, rubbing his hands together before realizing he wasn't typing or writing, "I WAS INSPIRED TO START WOOD CARVING AS A SIDE HOBBY TO FUEL MY ACTUAL HOBBY--WHICH IS MAKING ELABORATE PUZZLE CONTRAPTIONS!" he says, skullbrows raising in wonder as he began to explain, "YOU SEE, WHEN I WAS TRAINING FOR ONE OF THE PROTOCOLS OF BEING IN THE ROYAL GUARD--MAKING TRAPS FOR ENEMIES TO FALL INTO--I REALIZED THAT I TOOK MUCH PLEASURE IN MAKING PUZZLING ONES THAT HAD MANY LITTLE MECHANICS AND NEAT GADGETS AND ALL THAT!"

He smiles bigger than his default expression already was, "THOUGH TRAPS AND PUZZLES STARTED TO BECOME MORE OBSOLETE AS TIME WENT ON, AND SINCE I AM STILL JUST A TRAINEE, I'M NOT ALLOWED TO MAKE PUZZLES FOR MODERN DAY SETUPS YET. IT'S QUITE EMBARRASSING TO ADMIT I HAVEN'T MOVED UP THAT MUCH DURING MY TIME IN THE GUARD, BUT IT MIGHT BE BECAUSE THEY TOLD ME I FOCUS A BIT TOO MUCH ON MAKING TRAPS RATHER THAN FIGHTING PEOPLE--I-I JUST DON'T LIKE TO FIGHT THAT MUCH," he says, sighing a bit.

".....BUT REGARDLESS, SINCE I COULDN'T MAKE BIG CONTRAPTIONS LIKE I WANTED ANYMORE, I STARTED TO CARVE WOOD TO MAKE TINIER BUT STILL COMPLICATED MODELS OF WHAT I THINK THEY'D LOOK LIKE!" he says, looking happier once again, "AND NOW I'M SELLING THEM!! I'M SO GLAD PEOPLE GREW TO LIKE MY CARVINGS THAT MUCH."

You watched him as he continued with a small sigh, scratching the back of his head, "TRUTH BE TOLD, I-I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO BE SOMEONE WHO COULD DO MORE IMPORTANT THINGS IN LIFE, BUT RECENTLY I'VE BEEN STARTING TO FIND THAT...D-DOING STUFF THAT I ENJOY LIKE MAKING PUZZLES AND THINKING UP NEW CONTRAPTIONS AND THINKING OF IDEAS IS WHAT I ENJOY MORE THAN WHAT I'VE BEEN TRYING TO ACHIEVE," he shrugs, poking one of the models you brought out to use as a photo for the front page.

"....LIFE IS VERY CONFUSING," he says, laying his chin down onto his arms.

"It is indeed," you smile, petting his head a bit which seems to soothe him, "But I'm glad that you seem to be at least getting a bit of a grasp on things. What you want to do, who you want to be, that sort of stuff," you say, leaning back a little in your chair, "I'm sure everyone in the house will be glad to help you get more of a straight path in life. And I'm included in that group of people."

Papyrus' eyelights lit up as he sat up straight, "REALLY?"

You nod, cheerfully smiling at him, "I'll be here to support you as long as you want me to be."

His face lit up in a soft shade of amber at your words, and he stared at you in what seemed to be surprise. He really wanted to question if you were just saying that or not--after all, others have and they've let him down just as easily as they said it--but he felt like what you were saying was what you really meant. Not a hint of passive aggressiveness or exasperation or tiredness was in your expression. With a small huff, he grinned and did his signature laugh.

"WELL, I-IF THAT'S GOING TO BE THE CASE, ALLOW THE GREAT PAPYRUS TO OFFER HIS SUPPORT TO YOU IN YOUR FUTURE ENDEAVORS AS WELL!"

**You got a star from Papyrus! 5/5! Fully approved!**

...

...

...

It wasn't long before Orange joined you two again with snacks. You all ate and had a small break before finishing the website, and Papyrus decided to promote it on his social media and also see if everything was organized and done right.

Meanwhile, Orange decided to go outside for a smoke break, and invited you to go along. Figuring you'd have to get up to go work anyway, you decided to take a break with him before you did. The walk outside was rather short as you went to the balcony, as you three were doing this in one of the upstairs offices.

Orange smiled a little, "it got dark quick today," he says, taking out a cigarette and lighting it. You watched as he put it between his teeth, though the way he held it made it look like invisible lips held it instead. You smiled a little and nodded, looking at the sky as it slowly got darker and darker.

"I think that's what happens when you have a productive day," you comment, "So maybe it means we did a good job at getting things done."

He chuckles, leaning against the railing of the balcony, "maybe so. i feel like i got more done this entire week than i usually have. that's prolly cuz of you though, thinkin' about it," he says, smiling back at you before looking back out at the ending sunset, "you have this odd influence on me that i can't really describe. maybe your hard workin' spirit rubs off on me," he says with a small laugh.

You raise your eyebrows, before chuckling a little yourself, "Well, I'm happy that I could inspire you to want to work more actively," you say, walking up to stand beside him, "I feel like that's one way we've probably gotten closer since we don't talk all that much so far."

Orange nods, looking at you with a small apologetic look, "'m sorry for that by the way. i don't feel comfortable talkin' to people that much if i don't know 'em that well. even when i'm workin' i'm infamous for bein' quick to the point about things," he says, scratching his skull, "i don't really mean to come off that way though."

You shook your head, "You've all had unpleasant experiences with past workers, from what I know. I don't know a lot, granted, but still. I can kinda guess that's the case judging by how you first reacted to me," you say, leaning against the railing a bit as the wind blew your hair (or what slime resembled hair, not sure yourself.)

"I'll admit I felt a bit wary around you all too, I just put that aside to be able to work properly," you say, closing your eyes, "But I find that despite how quickly this week seems to have gone by, even if I'm not someone who'll work for you for longer than this, I feel like I've gotten to know some truly wonderful people," you chuckle, "I don't know how it managed to happen so quickly, but I feel like we're all already pretty good friends.....is that disrespectful of me to say?"

Orange looks at you, somewhat in silent surprise. He takes his cigarette from his teeth to blow a long awaited puff, before putting it back and exhaling calmly, "......nah. i....well, i can't say i feel like we're friends yet, but, i don't feel like i can't trust you as much as i felt that way with others before ya," he says, chuckling dryly, "'m sorry, like i said--i take a bit of time to feel really comfortable opening up yet."

You chuckle, "I don't expect you to immediately trust me fully like some of the others might, believe me," you grin, "I'm a nasty-looking slime thing who has manners that only seem like a cartoon character would have. I acknowledge that I might seem fake to people."

You two have a small laugh together before Orange looks back to the sunset.

"......y'know, though--the others seem to really like you in one way or another, even if they're the same as me n' don't really consider you a friend yet," he looks back at you with a gentle expression, "i can tell you've been a positive influence on this whole house. so even if things don't work out, 'm glad i got to know you and i hope i get to know you more as time goes on."

You blink, watching him for a moment, before smiling, "I hope I get to know you more too, Mr. Orange," you stand straight, "Believe it or not, I think _you've _influenced me to want to know all of you more. It's probably kind of ironic, how you being standoffish draws me in more," you chuckle, "But I really want to get to know you regardless of how standoffish you may be."

Orange looked at you in surprise, a common expression among the men of this house, before smiling calmly again and standing straight, a somewhat bashful expression dawning on his face.

"well, i guess i'm glad the feelin' is mutual after all.."

You may not realize it, but he's glad that you opened up enough to drop the overly sophisticated speech with him at least a little. Honestly, this might be one of the first times he's wanted to bond with one of his workers more since a while ago..

** You got a star from Orange! 5/5! Fully Approved! **

* * *

Tomorrow is the day...

You'll be judged on your quality as a worker and deemed eligible or ineligible to work here. It's kind of nerve-wracking.

.....but you have some hope in yourself, at the very least. They all seemed like nice people and you genuinely kind of started to feel attachment to them. For your species, attachment, even the littlest bit, to the ones you worked for was important. You'd feel sad if it all fell flat...

......but regardless, it is their choice.

You simply go into your room after the day is over and your final chore has been finished, looking at the starry night sky from your window as you tucked into bed. Smiling a little from the good starting bonds this week has made, you turn away from your window and go to sleep.

The entire house being put to rest until the deciding day..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! sorry i was gone for a while, i took a break from ao3 and totally forgot i even had an account here
> 
> but, now that this is done and the next chapter is going to be the short intermission between the prologue and the actual story, i can get to the meat of what i've wanted to do--rewriting old chapters and doing ideas i wanted to flesh out more in the original story but didn't!
> 
> i'll be redoing chapters, plotlines, etc.  
please, if you like the story, stick around! there's gonna be much more to enjoy than i was able to provide in the old version :D


	8. Welcome to the Skelefont Household (Saturday)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today's the big day.
> 
> Shall we see how things go?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's raining somewhere else and reunited are such good songs  
snowy too, beautiful
> 
> the undertale ost really does jog nostalgia cogs in my brain

You woke up this morning to a strange sight...

The house was empty.

Or at least, it seemed empty.

Upon stepping out of your room and going to wake up Sans, you found that he wasn't in his room. Nor was Papyrus, or Orange, or Black, or Red, or Blue. You looked all around the house for them and found no real traces of anyone. You had no idea what was happening, and for a second you thought maybe you were dreaming. Nonetheless, you knew you still had work to do, so you got down to it right away.

It's not like they wouldn't return, right?

**\-- Ebott City --**

In one of the biggest modern cities in the country, the six skeletons were all out shopping and contemplating things. Namely, of course, about you.

It was obvious to each and every one of them that they'd grown attached to you. You were one of the nicest and most genuine workers they've had in who knows how long. Some of the others were pretty nice on occasion but, due to one reason or another, they weren't able to get attached....

Especially after that one time..

Maybe it was wrong in some people's eyes to care about your employees as an employer, but these guys genuinely felt it was a necessity. It made things easier for everyone involved. Sure, maybe they couldn't be full-on friends especially when the workers were on the job, but they could be nice, couldn't they?

"....so....what's the verdict, you guys?" Orange looked at everyone as they went around the aisle to pick out things, "i don't see why we shouldn't keep 'er around, though i might be a little biased since i'm used to havin' people work for me."

"I THINK THAT'S A HEAVY BIAS, YES," Blue comments, glaring at his brother with a grin, "YOU LAZYBONES. YOU CAN'T USE YOUR OWN LACK OF SELF-DISCIPLINE TO EXCUSE HIRING A WORKER! ......NONETHELESS, I--I DON'T THINK IT'S A BAD IDEA TO KEEP HER AROUND EITHER! SHE'S VERY DILIGENT AND HONEST."

Papyrus nodded in agreement, "YES! A GREAT WORKER THAT WOULD BE DELIGHTFUL TO HAVE! ALMOST AS GREAT AS ME WHENEVER I GET THE TIME TO DO CHORES!" he pauses, "...WHICH IS ALMOST NEVER, BUT."

"i think ya take after me more than you think with the laziness," Sans teased his brother, but before Papyrus could reply, he fixed his hoodie and cleared his throat, "i've always been for 'er, though i can't say i ever promised her the job. she'd prolly expect it if we didn't, or even if we did."

"i personally think she's fuckin' amazin'. best worker i remember havin' in months, maybe a few years," Red comments after stuffing a few bottles of hot sauce into his cart, "i don't see why we shouldn't keep 'er around, right, bro?"

Black sputtered as he was singled out, "WHY ARE YOU ASKING ME?! ARE YOU IMPLYING THAT I'VE GROWN ATTACHED TO THAT SENTIENT BLOB OF WOMAN?!"

Orange snickered at his choice of wording as Papyrus and Blue gasped. Everyone then stared at him as he grew increasingly more crimson in the skull, growling as he stuffed some marinara sauce into his cart, "........I CAN'T SAY THAT OBJECTIVELY, SHE'S THE WORST SERVANT WE'VE EVER HAD. T-THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT I LIKE HER, THOUGH!! SHE'S JUST....ACCEPTABLE, COMPARED TO SOME OF THE RECENT ONES WE'VE HAD."

Red gave his brother somewhat teasing pats on the back as Sans chuckled.

"so, what does this mean? we all in agreement it'd be good to at least see how the rest of the year goes with her?" He adds, looking for his favorite brand of ketchup before putting it into his cart.

The six of them stood there for a moment, seemingly thinking in unison. All of them considered how you did--and honestly, they had no real complaints. Nitpicks, maybe, but nothing big enough they could say you were bad at your job. You were...quite perfect, honestly. Maybe it was your biology, or maybe you just had a very nice personality and work ethic, but regardless they had no real reason to be dissatisfied. And that's all that they really hoped for, at the end of the day--that, and, maybe someone else to talk to outside of their work and friend groups would be nice again.

After they all exited the aisle one after another, three of them going to any cashier available and three of them checking out of the store at self-checkouts, as they went to their rather large and fancy limousine-esque cars, it was a totally silent agreement among them all. They nodded, and gave each other small looks of assurance as they entered the cars, ready to go home and prepare something special..

**\-- Skelefont Household --**

You had finished cleaning every possible mess they could've left before going away.

They still weren't here, to your knowledge. Here you were just standing in your room, in front of your newly made bed. Sighing a little bit, you wondered if isolating you was their way of telling you that they were displeased with your services. It was an odd way to say so, but it was possible.

Sitting down on your bed, you started to contemplate what you'd do if you ended up having to leave. Unless you found a job application quickly after this, there was no real chance you'd get a job for a while and you might end up drifting again. Besides that, you started to have a bit of connection to these bosses as well. Maybe nothing friendly or romantic, but a bond with your bosses--regardless of how little--was vital to a Shoggoth's entire being.

It was what kept you attached to her side for so long, after all.

Regardless, you suppose you'll settle for whatever happens. After all, it was ultimately their choice.

With that, after a bit of rest and getting out some bags to pack in case you were told to leave by tomorrow or even tonight, you left the room only to find something outside of your door. It was....a bone?

You picked it up, only for another one to appear. You picked that one up, and another appeared, so on and so on.

You blinked. Well, their powers were related to bones, but this was quite strange. Following the bone trail, you picked up bone after bone as they appeared, one after another. Until you came to the dining room and the last two bones floated in front of the door.

Grabbing the bones, you were surprised when they all disappeared into white and blue sparkles, though looking up you heard a bit of chatter in the room ahead.

So, you open the door, and.....

....it's dark.

.....

.....

.....

.....

That is, until the lights come on and all of the skeletons greet you in front of the dining table. Orange and Black held a banner and Blue and Sans did as well, both of them reading:

**CONGRATULATIONS Y/N!**

**YOU'RE A PART OF THE HOUSE NOW!**

After that, Papyrus, Red, and Black pulled party poppers, which popped with a satisfying noise as confetti rained down on both Sans and Blue, and the floor as well. You also noticed there was a lot of bone-themed decor and they also seemed to have prepared a meal (quite obviously lead in production by Blue.)

Your eyes were probably wider than they've been so far, because three of them started laughing at what you guess was a surprised expression.

"were ya really that shocked we did this??" Red grinned, wiping nonexistent tears from his eyes, "goddammit, that was hilarious to see--d-don't look at me! dON'TPFBTBBFBT--" he began to laugh again as your expression returned to normal. Though you already infected him with laughter anyways, so he was now laughing his...potentially existent? ass off.

"well, i mean--we usually try to do somethin' nice like this for any big change in the house--hell, we did it for everyone's birthdays at some point," Orange grins, "even people who don't live here."

"it's like a family tradition," Sans says, pausing, "...even though we're not family--"

"WE'RE LIKE FAMILY!" Papyrus interjects, "I'D SAY THAT WE ALL ACT LIKE FAMILY ENOUGH THAT WE COULD CONSIDER EACH OTHER RELATIVES!! OR NOT, MAYBE THAT'S JUST ME. BUT YOU'RE ALL NEARLY AS GREAT AS I AM--SO I'D ACCEPT YOU WHOLEHEARTEDLY!"

"_YOU _WOULD ACCEPT **_ME?! _**DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH, OBVIOUSLY IT IS I THAT WOULD ACCEPT YOU INTO MY FAMILY SO GRACIOUSLY," Black says, puffing his ribcage/chest up, "AFTER ALL, IT ONLY MAKES SENSE GIVEN I AM THE GREATEST, AND YET ALSO MOST DIABOLICALLY SINISTER ONE HERE. I HAVE THE MOST AUTHORITY!" he laughs loudly as Blue huffs at him.

"OH, YOU NEVER CHANGE. WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE THIS LESS ABOUT US AND MORE ABOUT Y/N, YOU KNOW?!" Blue said, apparently scolding both him and Papyrus, "I GET THAT YOU TWO HAVE EGOS BIGGER THAN THE SKY, BUT IT'S IMPORTANT TO FOCUS LESS ON US!"

Papyrus blinked, "I HAVE AN EGO BIGGER THAN THE SKY?? WHY, THIS IS JUST NORMAL CONFIDENCE!"

Red, still laughing, grinned, "yeah, dude. clearly my bro's the one with an ego bigger than the entirety of mars."

"HOW DARE YOU?!"

With that, the four broke out into a conversation, and Sans--strangely--fell asleep while he was standing up. Well, it was 8 am, they must've gotten up pretty early to be able to miss your radar. Orange, meanwhile, was just toying with a lollipop--probably to avoid smoking inside--and grinning to himself while shaking his head. You heard him mumble something about how this entire celebration got way off-topic, before he went and sat at the table to begin eating.

Then the four that were arguing caught him eating, and began to drag him into the conversation for multiple things--not letting them have the first bite, him stealing the first bite, the fact that the food was for everybody/one person/you, etc. Sans was still sleeping, surprisingly.

You stared at this chaos, before smiling gently and feeling a tiny fuzzy feeling return to your heart. There it was, that one feeling..

...a feeling you've begun to miss since you parted from your old Master.

Stepping forward to quell the chaos, you felt a little giddy inside. Finally, maybe this was a place you could start anew. Making new bonds, with new people who seemed to desire the same thing you did--getting closer.

While it was chaotic and there was definitely more to come in the future, you have to admit

you're glad that you found the flyer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this isn't a very suspenseful chapter and i'm pretty sure everyone saw it coming but hey  
it's short since it's just an ending to the prologue
> 
> now we're moving onto the MEAT ):)


	9. Interactions and Interjections

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You've been accepted to the house of Skeletons quite graciously.  
Some time since your initiation has passed and they're gradually getting more comfortable around you, and vice versa.
> 
> Today was relaxed, though part of you feels like it's more fitting to see this as the calm before the storm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> since most of these chapters are gonna be redone, i'll either be editing the original chapters to fit my personal standards or rewriting them entirely....which i kinda did both here but that's not the point
> 
> we'll just have to see how it goes with every chapter  
also the time skip was not that large, if anything it was more like a few more weeks  
i wouldn't pull that on you lol

Currently, you were cleaning the windows upstairs. Your Masters had all been woken up and had eaten breakfast, so you went to do chores as soon as dishes were done. You felt pretty productive this past half-month or so than before, it was so reassuring.

"MS. Y/N!"

Broken out of your cleaning trance, you turn to see Papyrus--you mean, Master Papyrus approaching you with a plate in hand. How unsafe, he didn't even have a cover over it..  
Regardless, you turned to your master with a smile and he returned it in full.

"What can I do for you, Master Papyrus?"

He grins cheerfully as you address him, coming to sit down in one of the chairs near the window you were cleaning, "I NOTICED THAT YOU SEEM TO HAVE A HABIT OF NOT EATING BREAKFAST UNTIL WE'RE ALL DONE," he says, "SO I CAME TO CHECK ON YOU, AND, WELL--" he shows you the plate, full of spaghetti, "I DECIDED TO MAKE YOU SOME SPAGHETTI!"

You blink, "...spaghetti?"

He nods, "WELL, IT'S ALMOST LUNCH ANYWAY. DON'T YOU THINK IT'S APPROPRIATE?" he asks. You were kind of at a loss for words since, well, one you didn't eat anything at all, two, you had no idea he even realized that you didn't eat when they did. Though you suppose that both he and Sans are pretty observant.

"OH! AND I USED SOME OF THE MEAT WE RECENTLY BOUGHT TO MAKE IT BY THE WAY, NO FROZEN STUFF. AFTER ALL, THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE USING TO COOK US DINNER TONIGHT!" he says, as if thinking you needed to be reassured. Which, while you kind of figured, you found it was nice of him to be so considerate. Taking the plate from his hands, you didn't notice how he jumped a little once your hands brushed against his.

Smiling at him, you took the plate securely in two of your tentacles, "Thank you, Master Papyrus. But if you wanted me to eat, you could've summoned me downstairs," you say, "Walking upstairs with a plate of uncovered spaghetti is just waiting for trouble," you say, your expression getting a bit less relaxed. You weren't really scolding him, but regardless he looked kind of embarrassed, nodding to what you said.

"...still, it's a nice gesture. Thank you," you say, gently smiling at him once more.

Papyrus nodded with a big smile as he watched you expectantly. You stared back, having expected him to go downstairs already, but he was just kind of...sitting there. You felt a little awkward so you cleared your throat and he jumped a little.

"OH! I-I'M SORRY, WAS I BEING WEIRD?" he laughs nervously, "I WAS JUST HOPING YOU'D BE ABLE TO TELL ME WHAT YOU THOUGHT OF MY SPAGHETTI BEFORE I WENT!" he states, getting up and fixing his scarf, posing a little confidently, "AS YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN IMPROVING GRACIOUSLY THANKS TO YOUR LESSONS. SO I WANTED TO KNOW WHAT MY GREAT TEACHER THOUGHT OF MY GRRREAT COOKING!"

You blinked, before looking at the plate of spaghetti. Well, it was true that the general consensus throughout the house was that Papyrus was improving in his cooking. You've never tried his cooking for yourself though so....why not?

You took a tentacle and formed a fork from the end of it. Plucking the slime-fork from your body, you twirled spaghetti around on it. You didn't seem to notice that he got you a fork out from his pocket and had been watching you in wonder as you ate from one of the tools you made from your own body.

"YOU CAN DO THAT..?" he asked, "WELL, ACTUALLY, I-I THINK YOU TOLD US BEFORE BUT...I'VE NEVER SEEN YOU DO IT!"

You blink, gulping down the bite of spaghetti in your mouth. Hm, tasty.

"Making tools from my body? Yes, I can do that. It's very useful for times like these."

"DOES IT HURT?"

You hum, shrugging, "Depending on how big the item is, it can feel a little uncomfortable sometimes. Though since Slime is self-sustaining and regenerates easily, it doesn't feel all that bad. And once I'm done I can break the object down and make it part of me again."

He seemed very intrigued by your biology, his eyelights darting around your body as if he was taking it all in. Then he realized that what he was doing was probably kind of inappropriate despite his innocent intentions, so he stood straight again with his cheekbones flaring that nice amber color again. Clearing his throat, he looks at you expectantly, "T-THAT'S VERY INTERESTING! ....SO...WHAT DO YOU THINK?"

"...it tastes very good, better than last week's," you smile at him, continuing to eat as he chuckled.

"WELL, I SUPPOSE ONE SHOULDN'T EXPECT LESS FROM SOMEONE ASPIRING TO BE SUCH A GREAT COOK--OR, RATHER, SOMEONE WHO IS A GREAT COOK, SUCH AS I," he poses again, a confident expression on his face. You noticed he seemed a lot more confident than when you first got here, which was kind of endearing.

"Don't get too ahead of yourself though, Master Papyrus. Even cooks like you and I have stuff we can always learn," you gently wave your fork at him and he concedes, crossing his arms and nodding.

"YOU'RE RIGHT! AFTER ALL, LEARNING AND MAKING MISTAKES IS WHAT'LL MAKE US EVEN GREATER..!"

The two of you talked for a little bit about when he'd help you cook for everyone again, and you ultimately ended up deciding that it'd be fine to try tomorrow at dinnertime. In fact, by the time you were done talking, the plate was emptied of spaghetti and you were feeling much more full than before. Absorbing the self-made fork, you pat your stomach.

"That was a nice meal. Thank you for going out of your way to cook me something to eat, Master Papyrus."

He laughs shyly, scratching the back of his head, "IT'S NO PROBLEM AT ALL! AFTER ALL, WOULDN'T IT BE INCONSIDERATE OF ME TO IGNORE MY WORKER'S NEEDS IF I NOTICE SHE MIGHT NEED SOMETHING?" he smiles at you contently, "OF COURSE, EVEN IF YOU DID EAT AND I WAS JUST NOT PAYING ATTENTION, KNOWING YOU'RE ALRIGHT FOR SURE MAKES ME FEEL BETTER!"

You grin a little. He was very sweet, wasn't he? Probably one of the more undoubtedly pleasant ones to spend time around, "I suppose that's a good way to look at things. Thank you for taking care of me, Master Papyrus."

He let out his signature laugh--a lot more bashful than usual--before turning to go downstairs.

"ALLOW ME TO WASH YOUR PLATE FOR YOU WHEN I GO BACK DOWN, Y/N!"

"Oh, no, sir. You can take care of me, but you know it is my primary duty to take care of you, too," you smile, grabbing the cleaning supplies to head back downstairs with him, "Even if that means doing the dishes for the food you made for me.

* * *

You randomly happened upon Master Sans in the library, reading a book. Presumably a sci-fi novel. He'd told you at some point that it was his favorite genre while simultaneously making puns about science. He seemed to generally be into stuff like that and oddly enough, fantasy.

You were just in there to dust the shelves and such, normal maid stuff. He seemed to take a break from his reading to take a 10 minute snooze, only to wake up and be perfectly fixated on his book again. His ability to take such short naps and wake up totally was something you aspired to develop.

"...hey, kid." Sans spoke up.

You turn your head just enough to look at him. He grinned as soon as he noticed he got your attention, and you found it kind of cute how his eyelights brightened up a little. Turning back to his book, he began turning the pages again.

"monster technology's really pickin' up recently, don'tcha think? it's kinda funny how these books tend to describe some of the stuff we already have," he says with a chuckle. Well, that was true, thanks to magic n' all that monsters are doing, technological advances have gone through the roof.

"Yes, it's quite interesting," Your tentacles keep up with the chores as you turn fully to him, "I've not read many science fiction novels or anything of the sort, but I did notice that there's a bit of technology that we're already starting to develop in the general sci-fi genre."

Sans laughed, "flyin' cars are being more and more developed as we speak. not to mention people have started pokin' their way into trying to find out if other dimensions exist," he says, turning the page, "it's just kinda funny, especially since these weren't written like a decade ago."

...he double checks the date the book was written.

"oop. nevermind."

"Some of them weren't, don't worry," you grin a little, turning back to the bookshelf, "Were you just curious to know my thoughts or did you want to talk more on it?"

Sans watched you work for a little, and turning back to him you saw he placed the book on his belly with his hands resting on top of it. He shrugged with a small smile, "i jus' got a bit bored since i've read this book a few times. not one of my favorites, but i can try to like it more i guess."

You nod in understanding, having experienced that with fiction before, "If you don't end up enjoying it after this reading though, there's always more books out there you can check out."

He nods in agreement, "yeah, it's just a shame cuz this one deals a lot with space and stuff. i dunno if you can tell or not but i have a soft spot for stuff involvin' space," he says with a small chuckle.

"Ah, yes, you enjoy dabbling in astronomy from time to time, right?"

"more than just from time to time--'s probably my favorite pastime besides jus' hangin' around, eating hotdogs, and learning about science shit no one else really cares that much about," he says, grinning, "maybe one day you could help me out in the lab. we do seem to have a big of _chemistry _when we do things together," his grin became wider, "'m sure if we got real good workin' together, we'd make others see _stars_."

You looked at him, exasperated yet amused as he continue to laugh quietly. You couldn't help but laugh a little at how genuine the man was being right now though.

".....but none of the experiments would be as much of a _blast_ as the one you cleaned up a few weeks ago," he says, his snickering and chuckling much louder than before.

"The entirety of what you just said may make me consider an answer other than yes," you say, getting him to let out a half-exaggerated "awww" of disappointment as you turned to continue cleaning. The puns, however, still made you chuckle a little the more you thought of it.

* * *

You were waiting for the laundry to finish up by now, most afternoon chores done at this point. Deciding that you could go make sure that things were ready for when you were going to make dinner, you decide to leave the laundry room for now.

Although on your way down you saw a familiar figure leaning against the stair rails. He grinned as soon as he saw you looking, winking and licking his teeth as if to appear attractive.

"heya, sweetcheeks. ya look as fine as ever, even when you're in the middle of work," he drawled, taking your hand and helping you down the last few steps. Actually, you say helped rather lightly, but still, an attempt was made.

You stood straight after bowing to him, smiling, "Good day, Master Red. How might I be of service to you on this fine day?"

He chuckles, shrugging and putting his hands in his pockets. He stands there for a good minute, before sweat starts rapidly increasing on his bones. He scratches his cheek nervously and looks at you with embarrassment, ".......well, uh. i-i knew what i was gonna say t' that til' whatever i wanted to suddenly disappeared from m'brain~"

You grin a little at his awkwardness. You've come to learn that despite trying to be flirty and hot, Master Red's real appeal was in his earnest nature when it came to romance. You weren't very interested, of course, but he didn't seem to realize that he honestly didn't have to try so hard to be cute.

He eventually saw you grinning and laughed nervously, "hey, don't tease me. i'm really tryin'."

"I know you are."

"then stop laughin'."

You couldn't help but chuckle a bit more before clearing your throat, ceasing the laughter once more. You stood professionally again, looking at him with a small grin, "So, do you need anything for real or did you just want to pull me over for a quick line?"

"don't call me out like that, 's unfair," he says, scratching the back of his head, "....but i mean, you looked busy so i don't really wanna bother you more than i have."

"Master Red, I'm always open to servicing my Masters if they need something," you close your eyes, "It's not only in my instinct but also just generally a nice thing to do. If you have something, even a little something, that you want me to do, just tell me."

Red eyed you for a minute, before pulling on his shirt collar a little nervously, before his flirtatious expression from earlier returned. Slowly, he sauntered over to you and, you moving back on instinct, got pinned against the wall though not aggressively. He leaned over with one hand on the wall, looking up at you. You appreciate the setup, at least.

"...how's about a kiss then? i was jus' feelin' a little lonely earlier," he says with a wink. His charms fell a little flat since despite being one of the bigger ones of his body type in this house, you were still taller. You grinned a little.

"A kiss? Is that all for certain?"

"it's the most important one, i'd say," he started to sweat a little more, and you could see him repositioning to push himself off of the wall again to stand up straight, "i'd really appreciate it, y'know? doesn't haveta be on my....uh....lack of a mouth."

There was a small silence.

"...i--is what i would say, til' i realize you prolly don't wanna be flirted with like that either, hah," he looked a bit ashamed, "'m sorry if that was uncomfortable, did i go a bit too hard? i'd get it if you're annoyed, heh.."

You blink, "...well, you certainly were very forward, but dare I say it wasn't the worst experience I've had," you look at him. He seemed relieved, but still guilty.

"...eh, still. i shoulda curbed my excitement faster, i've already made tons of people uncomfortable because i get excited when i get the opportunity."

He paused, then flailed his arms a bit, "nnnot to make it seem like i'm entirely innocent i guess, i mean...." He sighs, clearly not sure what to do. You look at Red for a bit before gently giving him a small hug. No kisses, since that'd defeat the purpose of this little encounter, but you wanted to encourage him.

"If it helps, you're trying to change. That's all some people could ask for from a flirt," you say with a gentle smile, before pulling away, "I appreciate you trying to grow, even a little."

You bowed to him, stating that you had work to be done, and slowly strode away from him after he mumbled out a reply to the statement. You didn't seem to realize his reply was so quiet because your tolerance and gentleness struck him silent.

* * *

You were taking a small drink from the faucet, holding a finger to it and sucking the water in, while mopping and wiping counters with four extended tentacles.

They came in handy with bigger rooms. Or just when being efficient. Either way you were glad that your body was practically built for this type of work, you could never imagine how past human workers felt.

"WHAT MIGHT YOU BE DOING IN HERE?" you heard the distinctively rough voice of Master Black call out to you, "I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO CLEAN THE UPSTAIRS BATHROOM A FEW MINUTES AGO, WHY ARE YOU DOING THE KITCHEN??"

You blinked, "Terribly sorry, Sir Black. I had gotten pulled over multiple times by the others, and I ended up coming here out of instinct," you bow deeply to him, as your tentacles come to a stop, before you go ahead and finish the mopping job. Unfortunately for you, despite your honest apology, Black came storming in out of frustration that you accidentally ignored his job for you. Accidentally ignored...is that a thing? Oh well, he doesn't care.

"SORRY WON'T CUT IT COMPLETELY, _SERVANT__. _IN FACT, I'D SAY IT CUTS IT SO LIGHTLY THAT I'M GOING TO ASSIGN YOU EXTRA WORK."

"Sir Black, you might want to walk a bit more carefully," you say, rushing to put up the supplies, "I just finished mopping, not everywhere is dry yet."

"SILENOOUHOUOUO--" he cried out amusingly, but you immediately went into alert mode whenever he slipped on the wet sections of the floor, and came barreling at you. Both out of reflex and concern, your tentacles shot out and made a mix of a cradle and a net around your master, and you helped reposition him to where he was standing, with a tentacle around his waist.

"That's why I said you should wait. The floor is still slippery," you sigh, "At least, to you guys it would be," you didn't exactly have feet to slip with, anyways.

Black seemed stunned, looking at you, then your tentacle, then the floor. It took him a little while, but after scowling a little and peeling your slime off of him, he wiped his clothes. Thankfully, you still didn't leave residue. He cleared his throat before crossing his arms, "I APPRECIATE YOU SAVING ME, I SUPPOSE. STILL, I WOULD'VE BEEN FINE WITHOUT IT," he says, and before you can reply he turns to you with...intrigue?

"YOU KNOW, YOUR REFLEXES ARE SOMETHING TO BE BEWILDERED AT. MOST PEOPLE KNOW SLIMES FOR BEING SLOW, YOU KNOW? AT LEAST, THAT'S WHAT I'VE HEARD FROM PEOPLE WHO BOTHER TO STICK AROUND THEM LONG ENOUGH," he says, and it was quite clear to you that this was a case of stereotypes being carried on throughout the years. Though, it wasn't necessarily untrue, not all slimes were like Moldsmals.

"Of course, you'd only be informed by those who haven't actually been around them," you smile at him patiently as you put up the supplies, "Slimes are actually capable of being as fast--if not faster--than a normal being, they're just known for being slow and sluggish because most of the time, they don't have to be fast unless they're defending themselves or hunting. You've probably heard that from people who haven't fought slimes."

"OH? AND HOW CAN YOU PROVE THAT YOU'RE RIGHT?" he asks, putting a hand on his chin, "AFTER ALL, YOU COULD BE LYING."

You grin, "Look it up, I'm not lying. There's even a few books and encyclopedias who point out that all slimes being slow is more of a stereotype than anything, it's just pretty famous. Slimes are very capable creatures," you close your eyes and bow your head, "I should know, as I am one," and with that, your mopping session was done and you looked at him again, "Now, do you want me to go do the chores?"

He eyed you for a moment, before blushing in realization that he'd shown....interest in you, eugh. Anyways, he turns around and nods, "YES, O-OF COURSE. YOU KNOW YOU SHOULDN'T BE SITTING HERE CHATTING, AFTER ALL, WHY DIDN'T YOU START MOVING AFTER YOU CAUGHT ME?"

You look at him in confusion, walking with him to the door, "Why would I? I wanted to make sure you weren't hurt," you say, "After all, if I let you stay shaken and injured by yourself, I'd be quite the lowly worker," you smile, "Your safety matters, you know."

He looked at you with surprise, that quickly turned into denial and then frustration--despite the blush on his face.

"S--STOP SAYING SUCH NONSENSE AND GO CLEAN!!" He stormed off as you simply chuckled a little at his fluster, going to work. As he came to a stop, he turned around and saw you turn a corner. Then he kept walking and ran a hand across his face, letting out an exasperated sigh.

Honestly, he couldn't understand why you did and said so many things that....that made him want to talk to you more!

* * *

"OH Y/N~!" Blue called out, hopping up to you with a grin, "I'D LIKE YOUR OPINION ON SOMETHING. BE HONEST, NOW, IT'S IMPORTANT," he says with a sparkle in his eyelights. Seeing Blue look so happy made you feel nice, so you turned to him to give him full attention.

"What is it, Master Blue?"

He shoved some blueprints in your face--colorful, but coherent--and smiled, "THIS IS THE PLAN FOR A NEW CONTRAPTION I'M MAKING! BUT FOR ONCE, IT'S NOT GOING TO BE USED FOR THE GUARD," he puffed his chest out proudly, "ONE OF THE QUEENS COMMISSIONED ME TO HELP DESIGN A NEW PLAYGROUND AREA AND THIS IS GOING TO BE THE MAIN ATTRACTION!"

You smiled a bit brightly at him. His happiness was a little contagious, you had to admit. Aside from that, the contraption itself seemed like it'd actually be pretty engaging for kids to play on. Judging by the notes, this playset was something that challenges kids and activates reward rides when they got the activities right. It was a pretty extravagant thing for a park, you wondered if it would be put in one of the big ones downtown.

"TORIEL SAYS THAT SHE THINKS INTEGRATING MORE MONSTER-MADE THINGS INTO EVERYDAY, FUN THINGS LIKE PARKS, THAT IT'LL EASE RELATIONSHIPS FASTER BETWEEN MONSTERS AND HUMANS," he looks down at his plan, "I TRIED TO MAKE IT ENGAGING, THOUGH WE'LL PROBABLY HAVE TO DO SOME TEST RUNS WITH COOPERATING HUMAN FAMILIES."

"How nice, Master Blue. From what I'm seeing of the concept, it seems to be a lovely design," you smile, and he blushes, though you point to a few things, "However, this segment right here. I get that your idea was to try and engage multiple ages of children, but this one doesn't seem to be too inclusive of a puzzle for kids who are younger than 10."

"YOU THINK SO?" he hums, "I SUPPOSE IT IS A BIT PHYSICAL FOR YOUNGER ONES. WHAT DO YOU SUGGEST?"

You put a finger to your chin, "The general concept is alright, and it's ultimately very simple. However, the execution is a bit detailed," you put your palm to your cheek and tilt your head, "For example, even though a 12 year old could do it just fine, I doubt that a 5 year old would be able to do this puzzle. Maybe make it a bit less complicated--less moving around, but still enough engagement. Also, make sure not to design it in a way that the older children feel demeaned. A majority of children get frustrated easily with complicated puzzles, I've seen."

"OH, I SEE! MORE INCLUSION, GOT IT," he nods, "THANK YOU, Y/N! I'LL MAKE CHANGES AND SEE HOW IT GOES," he smiles at you brightly, "BY THE WAY, ARE YOU ADJUSTING ALRIGHT TO WORKING AND LIVING HERE? I KNOW IT CAN BE A BIT COMPLICATED, I APOLOGIZE."

You blinked, "Ah, no worries, Master Blue. I've said this before but I'm used to being in houses with emotional, sometimes chaotic people," you smile at him calmly, "This place is quite hospitable, you see," you reassure him with a pat on the head.

"I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE! THE FIRST FEW WEEKS OF HAVING WORKERS IS ALWAYS ANXIETY INDUCING," he laughs nervously, "I CAN NEVER TELL IF WE'RE EVER TOO MUCH FOR PEOPLE IN GENERAL. I TRY NOT TO BE, BUT.."

You look at him, before kneeling down to give him a gentle back pat, "Master Blue, if I felt like you'd be too much for me, I would've never signed up for the job," you state, "I accepted because I knew what I might get myself into. If I didn't, I would've walked out the door the moment I saw you all waiting for me that day," you smile gently, moving your hand up to pat his back.

Blue seemed reassured and nodded, "I SEE. WELL, I'M GLAD! BUT YOU SHOULDN'T FEEL AFRAID TO COMPLAIN TO US IF NEED BE, YOU KNOW. BLACK CAN'T DO ANY HARM WITH US AROUND, ANYHOW," he says with a confident smile. You chuckle a little at this, charmed by Blue's charisma. Your approval made him blush as he watched you get up to clean again.

"I'm going to clean more, but if you want me to look at your puzzle later, I'll gladly review it once more."

He looked at you, in awe of your kindness and graciousness, and nodded, "O-OF COURSE! THANK YOU, Y/N!"

* * *

"Here we are, sugar honey tea, iced. Three scoops of sugar and honey like you requested," the thought of how much sugar was in that singular drink was enough to make your insides cringe, but then again, marshmallows and cotton candy existed.

"thanks, _honey,_ i'll savor it," Orange winked at you as you rolled your eyes, but smirked in slight amusement. Now that his tea was brought to him, you set the tray of honey and sugar down next to him on one of the tiny cabinets next to the couch.

Bowing, you continue to clean the living room, Orange was watching tv and occasionally moved part of his body (or his entire body) when you had to clean any spot next to or on the couch. It was oddly amusing, watching him float up and down off the couch, though it was momentary as you didn't stay by the couch for too long. He could tell it amused you though, and seemed satisfied.

You heard him sip from his cup, "so," he sighed in satisfaction, "how was the first few weeks?"

"Rather unique, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle," you say, "Honestly, I feel kind of at home already," you smile, "It hasn't been that long but I feel like I've been working here for longer than I have."

"i'm glad," he chuckles, "we're all pretty chaotic in our own ways sometimes, but i gotta say...i think we have a special skill to make people feel nice n' cozy," he yawns, shrugging, "though of course that doesn't guarantee they'll like or stay with us. look at all the other people who resigned from workin' here."

You wondered how many people had to have resigned for them to feel so.......uncertain, in their skills as bosses and just as people in general. I mean, they didn't seem to totally hate themselves, but, they've spoke a bit about making mistakes and there were distinctly a few times that they got worried you were angry at them for certain tasks. It really didn't bother you too much, but....

Well, maybe you'll find out later.

"How do _you _feel about _me_ though, Master Orange?" you look at him, though your tentacles continue the remainder of the cleaning for you. He watches them for a moment before finally processing the question.

"me? oh," he laughs a bit, there was a hint of nervousness in it, "my turn to be interrogated, huh," he sits back and then sighs a little, "......mnnmn, i can't say i'm not fond of ya. you're doin' a good job, better than any of the others have," he smiles at you, "though i can't really say i have much of an opinion on you as a person, just a worker."

"Does that mean you're interested in me, Master Orange?"

He seems to have taken your words as a double meaning of sorts, since he blushed a little, but you simply smirked it off as him being a little shy. Regardless, he shrugged and drank more tea before replying.

"....well, i mean, you were interested in me too, right?" he rose one of his brows, grinning, "one day if you tell me more about yourself, i guess i'll have no choice but to tell ya more about me. mutual exchange n' all that," and with that he gulped down the rest of his tea, put the cup on the tray and got up, "i'll take care of this, by the way. keep doin' what you're doin'."

With a casual wave, he exited the room.

You hummed in thought, your cleaning coming to a pause.

Letting the Masters learn more about you as a person. An interesting concept, for sure, but were they really interested enough for you to tell them things about yourself? Besides that, you feel like your personal history doesn't even compare to the lives that they might've had, just from the small bits of fact you get every now and then.

Maybe that interest was a lot more mutual than you thought before.

"......well, I'll think about that later. Maybe for now I should think about what to make for dinner."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if i'm honest this was probably the most boring chapter of the original  
it was more to test the waters in the OG  
here? ...i have no excuse other than wanting to rewrite the first chapter of the original since to me it was the most embarrassing one to read besides all the chapters with fanservice :p


	10. The Gatekeepers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You've noticed some alarming behavior around the neighborhood your masters live in, and though you're aware they're a bit wary about it, you've implored them to hire some gatekeepers.
> 
> And you do, but their first impressions are a bit....off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> original characters wooooooo  
these two are the only ones we'll see for now so that the story doesn't get bloated full of unrelated characters immediately
> 
> looking back on this I feel that the rewrite isn't much better, but it was like 4 am when i finished this so i apologize if it sucks

You were currently in the process of making flyers and posters.

For what, you may wonder? Why, because you were looking for some part-time workers and gatekeepers for the mansion, of course! Now, don't get the wrong idea--you've talked to the Masters about this and they all agreed due to your terms and conditions....

* * *

**\--Flashback: 2 Hours Earlier--**

"We need to hire gatekeepers," you spoke out suddenly one day while pouring all of your masters drinks. Collectively, the room filled with silence before slight choking, coughing, and noises of shock filled the room. You watched your Masters with a raised brow before sighing, "Could you all give me a moment to explain?"

"OF COURSE NOT. HIRING MORE WORKERS IS PREPOSTEROUS," Black said, waving his arms accusingly, slamming his hands onto the table, "WHY IN HELL WOULD WE NEED GATEKEEPERS? WE'RE ALL CAPABLE FIGHTERS."

Sans wiped his mouth free of coffee, sweating a little, "hang on, aight? she said gatekeepers, not maids or anythin'. i think we need to hear 'er out."

"TO BE FAIR TO Y/N, THERE IS A REASON THAT SHE MIGHT BE ON THIS TRAIN OF THOUGHT," Blue points out, "AFTER ALL, HAVE YOU HEARD THE NEWS? MORE ATTEMPTED HOUSE BREAK-INS, ROBBERIES, AND KIDNAPPINGS HAVE BEEN HAPPENING AROUND OUR NEIGHBORHOOD. NO ONE HAS ANY IDEA WHY, BUT WE'RE ASSUMING IT'S A HATE CRIME BECAUSE THIS NEIGHBORHOOD IS MOSTLY FULL OF RICH MONSTERS."

You smile a little at Blue, thanking him internally for his backup, "Listen, I know it's quite the sudden idea. And I know, you all haven't had the best experiences with other workers, I'm not trying to devalue that. But recently as things get more busy and the later seasons approach, I notice you all get a lot busier, particularly those with jobs outside of the house," you look at them, "And although it doesn't necessarily stress me out, I am just one being. No matter how capable, I'm still able to get ganged up on, or overpowered by myself. If something bad happened when you weren't home...."

The boys sit in their chairs as you walk around them to give them more to drink, "I understand it's a sudden change, but I'm not asking you to hire entire staff right now. As much as I majorly trust my abilities, having help might not be that bad. Especially if you're gone for a few days on a trip or something similar."

Papyrus hums, "........WELL, I DON'T THINK IT'S A BAD IDEA. THOSE ARE PRETTY SOLID POINTS! PLUS, WE'RE NOT ALWAYS HAVING THE BEST DAY WHEN IT COMES TO BATTLING, I'VE NOTICED WE'RE ALL PRETTY LAIDBACK UNLESS WE NEED TO BE," he crosses his arms and grins, "EVEN IF THEY'RE NOT CLOSE TO US YET, THERE'S ALWAYS A CHANCE THEY COULD BE. IT MIGHT BE BAD IF WE'RE NOT HOME AND SHE GETS AMBUSHED OR SOMETHING! WE HAVEN'T SET UP TRAPS EITHER FOR....PAST INCIDENTAL REASONS, SO.."

Orange shrugs, "honestly, i don't think it's a bad idea either. reasonable, 's not like she's pushin' us to get a bunch of battle maids or anything either."

They all sat down and thought about this for a little, before Red spoke up.

"but...sweetheart, ya gotta remember--we're not good with employing humans, y'know? all our past workers were humans n' they either left us or...made us fire 'em," he grins nervously, "i know ya mean good but i honestly don't wanna try n' work with 'em."

You blinked as they all stared at you. With that, you grinned a little and chuckled, which caught their interest.

"....who ever said that my idea was to employ humans?"

* * *

**\--Present Time--**

Even though they were nervous, they had faith you had things under control.

And also you told Black and Sans that if things didn't work out, you'd simply try to become better as a guard working on your own. Sans seemed more guilty about it than Black did, but you didn't really care about that.

But yes, despite hoping to respect their uncertainties, you had to admit that this along with the later seasons becoming busier almost being over made things a lot harder.

They started holding conferences and training sessions at home in their admittedly giant backyards, they had more guests over from work, and overall things were just bustling and booming because the year's end was on the horizon. It was pretty apparent that even if you wanted to, you'd either have to work harder to try and make yourself better (which you constantly did) or you'd have to get some people to help you in some way.

You felt that the latter was probably a good idea, because even though it was relatively uneventful now, things could get more wild later on.

After the posters were done, you went to Blue as planned--since he had to go out to town for training with Black, he agreed to help hang up posters and give out flyers in the city while you did so in the village while you went to shop for some things Sans needed. Papyrus had also called someone to make a small apartment area for the part-timers to stay in if needed, which once again made you realize how staggeringly rich they were.

Grabbing a small handful of posters and flyers, you met with Blue at the door and exchanged them with him, and not too long after he and Black headed out you went out to shop as well, putting up posters and handing out flyers to anyone who seemed like they might be approachable. Though not all humans were indifferent, you were somewhat thankful that they were since these advertisements more or less targeted monsters in need of a job like yourself. You don't hate humans, but avoiding conflict would be necessary if this plan were to work.

You noticed some monsters had already caught on and were reading the flyers as soon as you gave them, or gathering around spots that the posters were hung.

You smiled, reading one of the last few flyers you held in your hands, "I suppose this wasn't a totally useless endeavor after all, given the reaction."

**[SKELEFONT HOUSEHOLD HIRING! IN NEED OF GATEKEEPERS/BODYGUARDS]**

**[You will be educated by the Head Worker Y/N, a Shoggoth, on how to properly work in the house after an interview has taken place.**

**Anyone over 18 is acceptable, you will be paid for your work at the end of every month**

**We are looking to hire the following:**

**2 Bodyguards/Gatekeepers**

**You will be provided with a dormitory area on the premises if your home is too far away.**

**As a guard working for the house, you must stay at all times unless there is a clear, serious reason you cannot.  
**

**If you are interested in a position, call this number: XXX-XXX-XXX]**

...

...

...

Within less than a few hours after the posters had all been spread and the flyers handed out, you were all kind of bombarded with calls by interested people. Though it was a bit much to handle about 20 calls every few minutes, you managed. Eventually an interview day had been scheduled and you were going to meet the candidates. Papyrus thankfully said he was certain that if the team worked, the dormitories would be ready by the time the interviews took place.

So everything was falling into place, now all that was left was to wait. Sans and Black were apprehensive about the whole ordeal, and rightfully so--but you were confident that you all would get nice workers even if things were a bit awkward at first.

At least you were all able to do some behind-the-scenes researching with their names .

So far, out of an entire yard-filling number of applicants, you had gone through about.............20 out of 40 people who wanted to be a bodyguard. Though sadly, it didn't seem like any of them fit your criteria nor expectations of what a guard should be. Not to be rude since you're sure they have their own skills, but...

some of these people kind of sucked.

You wouldn't say that out loud though.

Regardless, you called in the next applicant into the room with your slime-produced megaphone. In almost immediately after came running another young woman, and you looked at her in interest.

She was a Hinezumi, interesting. You don't see lots of those around here.

She smiled at you, her short, orange-red hair bouncing with her movements while she sat. Her eyes were golden-brown, filled with anticipation and excitement, and although she wasn't fighting, you saw the fur around her wrists was slightly aflame. Though this wasn't an uncommon occurrence--usually Hinezumi's wrist and ankle fur lit up in flames when they were excited, even more so when they fought.

Intrigued, you went over her resume.

[Mei Shui - XXX-XXX-XXXX - 108 W. Ember St.]

You then proceeded to read her resume. Let's see, she was a bouncer for a few years at one of Napstaton's clubs, she's been noted to be extremely vigilant, helpful, and strong, great at hand to hand combat and alright at fire magic.

You rose a brow at the next note--she apparently won an award from her neighborhood's local law enforcement for assisting in the apprehension of someone dangerous. It's a bit blurry but you think you remember that story. Basically someone sketchy had showed up and caused a storm at one of the clubs she worked at and they were too violent for the staff to contain him. Even some of the other bouncers couldn't, and then Mei came in and basically did the guards' jobs for them. The guy in question turned out to be part of a drug circle, which Mei got an award for because of that even though she was just doing her job.

Clearly someone who had potential, but you couldn't just hire her based off of that. Time for the interview, you suppose.

Putting down the resume, you looked at her and she smiled.

"...so, Miss Mei," you start off, "Tell me about yourself."

Mei's ears twitched a little and she grinned, "About myself, huh? Ummm....well, my family emigrated here from over by one of the regions around the Mist Continent, and we settled here in Ebott because it's been played up as one of the biggest regions...ever! For monsterkind and all that, y'know? We thought it was perfect. And it has been! Uhhh...what else do I say about myself?"

You smirked a little, but wiped it from your face immediately after, "Well, that's a start. Tell me about your skills in combat."

"Oh! I'm good at martial arts," she grins, then thinks, "...well, I think that's what it is. Honestly, I've fought in so many different ways I can't tell one type of kick from another anymore, y'know? It's kind of just a natural thing for me, I don't think about it when I actually fight," she shrugs, "I do know that I've started learning how to use my fire in magic! I'm not too good at it but if an ember even hits what I'm aiming for, it'll go up in flames! I'm trying to control it better."

Interesting. You've never really known Hinezumi that used magic, usually they preferred pure hand-to-hand.

"Can you demonstrate some of your abilities in combat?" you ask, and she looks confused.

"Me? Oh, but--there's nowhere for me to practice," she says with a nervous laugh, which makes you chuckle a little.

"Who said we'd be moving from this room?" and before she could question you, you stood, "Excuse me for this, but I'd like to test you myself."

That was enough for her to grin and the fire around her wrist fur to burn even brighter, and she stood as well. Looks like she caught onto the fact a bit ago that this house wasn't necessarily going to be a normal one, but maybe she clued that in even sooner.

Using your tentacles, you shot a few at her in jabs, and she deflected, dodged, or even punched them back at you with incredible speed and strength. The vibrations sent through your slime made you shudder a bit, that's how powerful they were. Regardless, you used some of your lower slime to target her feet and such, and though she kind of tripped over them, she managed to dodge and avoid being knocked down--tripped, not so much, but at least she stayed up.

After a bit you coiled your tentacles together to make two large ones and shot them at her, though she grabbed them in time and attempted to burn you with the fire magic, you assume. Though you could feel the fire, it didn't hurt partially because you were currently fully moisturized--that rendered fire magic ineffective on slimes. She seemed surprised by this, but you pulled the two away before you could say anything.

"I'd say that's alright," you sit down again.

"O...Oh. Okay, I guess!" she sat down too, clearly still fired up (both figuratively and literally), "How'd I do?"

"Mm, you did alright on average, though I think that it'd be better to see how you'd do in a more training-like situation," you look at her, "Your skills are great, though a bit raw and unfiltered, which isn't bad, but in a situation with intruders you should always try to be a bit more refined," you smile, "Your magic is nice, but if it can't dehydrate a slime, you need to make it a bit stronger."

Crossing your arms, you hummed in thought. She was definitely one of the best that's come in, though granted she didn't have much competition in the way of Good fighters. After a bit more talking to her about herself, and why she wanted to work for the skelebros, you shook her hand.

"You'll be contacted if we decide to give you a chance," you say, with a bit more hope in your tone.

She smiled and nodded, "Of course! I look forward to it."

...

...

...

...

You called in the last candidate for bodyguard not long after Mei showed up, as a majority of the others were rather underwhelming compared to her once more and most of them were underprepared, meaning you could get through them quickly. There were a few that'd seem decent if only they weren't overly confident in their magic. Confidence in magic isn't a bad thing, but physical abilities and physical training also matter especially since some monsters are more frail than others.

The last candidate came into the room. She was taller than you, which was a stark contrast to the other candidates (even Mei, who was of average height for a humanoid girl) and also a lot...thicker. She sat on the chair and it kind of bent to her weight.

Ah, she was a Ren Xiongmao. Or werepanda, but that name was less common.

She grinned at your silent surprise, "You gonna interview me or not?" she leaned forward, and you sat up again.

"Ah, right, one second," slightly flustered, you looked over the resume for her.

[Liên Xiang - XXX-XXX-XXXX - 1006 N. Daylight St.]

Let's see, there's barely any real careers here that accentuate her fighting prowess--her jobs listed here are mostly ones that seem like part-time jobs. Though there is one that sticks out to you: she taught at a kwoon for a few years apparently, alongside one of the more experienced and well-known fighters. As well as that, she was awarded by the Royal Guard at some point for assisting in a child's self-defense course they were holding in order to help more monster children get strong, since strength was relatively valued by monsters. Even those more pacifistic like Master Papyrus.

Also, you did note that her skills noted how she was rather good at fighting, using her size to her advantage. She also fought with a staff made out of magic, though she never specified what type and it always just sort of appeared and disappeared whenever she was done fighting.

The thing that stood out most to you though, was the fact that she apparently made an appearance in one of the biggest fighting tournaments held in the past few years--MML, Monster Mega League. It was a fighting competition held by a rich and famous tetra-armed monster after their child started to admire the WWE, though after that child found out that the wrestling was performative, they got disappointed. This person loved their child very much and didn't like seeing their boredom after that, so they made an actual wrestling tournament that mostly monsters entered in, though there were plenty of humans that did as well.

Apparently, she won against the champion that held his title for 3 years, which was no feat to simply brush off.

"You've been focusin' on that for a bit, did'ja get to the part where it talks about me winning the tournament?" she spoke up, "I'd been workin' for that title for a long while, y'know? It wasn't any small feat of just "get lucky and win", I had to earn it," she sat up and crossed her arms, "It ain't easy fighting for real, y'know?"

You smiled, "Of course, I wouldn't assume the least of such a skilled fighter," you sat up, "So, Miss Liên--"

"Just call me Li," she says.

"Oh. Well then, Li, tell me more about yourself," you leaned forward on the desk.

"Well, I was born 'ere before Ebott City was a thing, n' when the village was the only thing here," she hums, "I still live there, and my mom's the only family I have, but I don't mind much since it's nice havin' her," Li scratches her ear a bit, "I've been fighting since I was a kid since I really thought it was a marvel, though most monsters back then were real frail and I barely had anyone to test my skills against. The most I had was Kappas and fishmen being willing to play sumo with me," she crosses her arms, "But I never got into sumo, y'know?"

Li stretches before crossing her legs, "So anyway, I trained for a while after I realized the MML was a thing, and I tried fighting in it the first year, but I got my ass BEAT. It was surprising because I didn't know monsters could be so strong in a genuine way, though of course I escaped injuries since if you didn't know, before fights you get a spell put on you that prevents you from takin' fatal injuries from stuff like that, so you can fight for real without worry, but anyway, I'm ramblin. Sorry about that."

"It's interesting to learn, so I don't mind," you grin, "Though you'd probably have more time and opportunities to tell me if you worked here. So let's get the interview done and over with so we can see if you made it," you say.

She grins, "You're pretty laidback, but I still feel like I'm talkin' to a professional. Anyway, I agree," she sat forward with her hands on her knees, "What're we doin' now then, huh?"

"I'm going to test your basic abilities," you stood, "I hope you excuse me."

Doing the same thing you did with Mei after Li gave you the OK, you swatted at her with a few tentacles, which she managed to either deflect or dodge despite staying on the chair, it was quite a sight. You attempted to reach and coil around her arms to lift her up, but she grabbed your tentacles and tied them together before slinging them back at you like a rubber band. You ducked and untangled your tentacles with ease, though you were interested in how she fought.

"You've been sitting the entire time," you observe.

"Yeah, I know. I don't take fightin' entirely seriously unless I'm in danger or super into it," she grins, "I wouldn't act like this on the job, this is more reflexes n' casual stuff than anything."

You rose a brow. You were slightly interested in what she'd be like if she fought seriously. Though regardless, you finished the interview a little soon after you met her, asking her a few more questions before shaking her hand and waving at her as she left. Then, after that, for once you just let yourself ungracefully collapse onto the table, laying your head on a hand. That took all evening, it's almost dinnertime. After a short moment of resting your eyes, you got up and prepared to go back.

You'd discuss this with the Masters as well as test them for a few days to see how this would go.

* * *

**\--2 Weeks Later--**

You have to admit, it took a bit for your bosses to lighten up to the girls. For the next two weeks after the interview, they'd been regularly tested on their fighting skill compared to the Masters and questioned on rather peculiar things on personal interviews. And through that time period you weren't sure if the string of attempted crimes were even going on anymore, but at the same time, it was kind of already done so now you had two gatekeepers.

It was now Saturday morning.

The girls showed up with their things a few hours ago and were getting settled in their dorms, which were placed nearby the house. Even though their job was to guard the house and its inhabitants, it was collectively agreed upon that it didn't mean they shouldn't be treated like everyone else was........well, like you were. Even though your room was in the basement, but oh well, it was a good room.

The two of them had uniforms, which were tailored to their requests to have more Asian influences (mainly Chinese.) The two seemed to get along based on the fact that they were both from the Mist Continent and generally seemed already part of the family.

Well, see, then a few things stood out that your Masters ended up having troubles with.

For one, Mei seemed rather tired and constantly fell asleep, which was normal during the morning, but now it was going on 1 pm. She was nearly asleep, though not entirely. Another thing that kind of worried you was how nonchalant Li was. Granted, maybe you were just a bit paranoid that they'd get booted immediately, and not every gatekeeper was the same, it was just a little worrisome.

Mei sleeping when she was supposed to be watching out for suspicious activity, and Li just kind of seemed...to not really care all that much. You suspected that Li might be a bit laid-back but Mei's situation was just kind of out of the blue. Your Masters got restless because of this and eventually they had a confrontation with you over your choices of bodyguard.

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING??? DIDN'T YOU TRY TO MAKE SURE THEY WERE THOROUGHLY MADE USED TO THIS ENVIRONMENT? THEY'RE BOTH ACTING LIKE CHILDREN, IN DIFFERENT WAYS, INSTEAD OF HOW SERIOUS THEY WERE WHEN WE WERE TESTING THEM!" Black crossed his arms and tapped his foot, you could practically see steam coming from his nasal cavity(?)

"MAYBE IT'S A CASE OF BEING DIFFERENT ON THE FIRST DAY AND GETTING USED TO IT OVER THE COURSE OF A FEW DAYS?" Blue wondered, "THEY BOTH SEEMED SO DILIGENT AND KNIGHTLY WHEN WE WERE TESTING THEM, THERE'S NO WAY THEY'RE NOT LIKE THAT...RIGHT?"

"why don't we jus' try askin' 'em?" Orange shrugged, puffing out a bit of smoke, "no harm in tryin'."

"ya say that like the last time we asked our employees about anythin', that some of 'em didn't get all defensive and uppity," Red retorts, crossing his arms, "maybe they're jus' shoddy n' wanted in for the money so they worked hard enough and thought we wouldn't care as long as they at least seemed like they're good for the job."

"I'M SURE THAT'S NOT THE CASE," Papyrus worriedly clasps his hands, "I THINK WE NEED TO GIVE THEM A CHANCE, AND MAYBE JUST REEDUCATE THEM ON WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE A BODYGUARD FOR REAL!"

"no tellin' that they'll listen to our advice either," Red says, "mei's fallin' asleep anyway, that's not like a problem that both of 'em are havin'. it's like sans but worse, honestly."

"DON'T GO AFTER SANS LIKE THAT," Blue's statement was what made everyone kind of burst into incoherent, disruptive conversation.

Sans was just kind of observing, though it was clear both of you had the same thought right now. Both of you hadn't gotten a chance to say anything, and just sat back to watch the others go at it. You didn't know what Sans was thinking about the situation, but you personally felt it might not be as big a deal as they're thinking, now that you think about it in a less biased way. Though you will admit you were just a bit nervous about the entire thing, so you didn't totally have no bias in the situation.

After a little bit, you walked out of the room while they bickered, going to the front of the house where the gate was located. The girls were there, Li was eating her dinner and sitting with her legs crossed, and Mei was asleep. Li was wearing a small shawl when she came, but now the shawl was on Mei which made you smile a little.

"Pardon, I hope I'm not interrupting your meal," you look at the panda woman, who just shrugged.

"I don't mind talkin' while I eat. Do you need something?" she looks at you with a brow raised.

"...well, it's just...my Masters have been concerned a little about you two's behavior," you say, "Maybe we're being presumptuous about how guarding actually works, and the type of people involved, but...they're a little concerned you might not be taking this as seriously as you were when you were just training," you crease your eyebrows a little, "I have faith that nothing bad is happening, but.."

"So did'ja just come here to tell me how I'm doin' my job is wrong?" Li scratched behind her ear, "Listen, ma'am, no disrespect to you or anythin', but this house has a bit of a problem if one day in, I'm already bein' interrogated because I'm no stereotypical English castle guard or whatever," she stood up and smiled at you, it had a bit of passive-aggressiveness despite being mostly calm, "Don't tell me how to tell my job, thanks. You wanted me to do my thing, and I am. Maybe have a bit of faith in your guards," she points to Mei, "'sides, mice are nocturnal. Most of 'em, anyway, but Hinezumi sleep during the day and work during night."

She looks at you with a bit of annoyance, "So I'd personally say you gettin' bothered by how her body works is you guys' problem. We're doing fine, just trust us."

You felt a little guilty, but she was firm in her stance, so despite being one of her bosses you simply nod and smile apologetically, "Pardon my rudeness. Report anything that happens, then," and with that, you turn and go back inside, as the night sky crawls over to take over the evening one.

* * *

**\--2:00 AM--**

Two hooded figures approached the estate, coming from the less populated area with less houses. Though the back of the mansion also had a large wall of a fence guarding it, the two figures charged up and made a high jump past it into one of the backyard gardens, one of them complaining about landing in roses.

"Are you sure this is the place?" the one with the dark pink markings asked, looking at their companion.

The one with red markings grinned, "Of course it is. We've been doing research for weeks, there's no way this house isn't it. Even among the shit-faced rich people of this community it sticks out."

The pink one sighed, "Honestly. Stop being so edgy, we're here to get more intel on the Royal Guard, aren't we? Something like that," they recoiled as they were punched on the head, "Hey!"

"Quiet! While yes, we're here for more information on them, it'd be great if we got one of the heads of the Guard and held him for a ransom or something," the red one giggled, "It'd be absolutely delicious to get precious info in exchange for one of those guys. They're so important despite being weaker than most of us."

"What're you two talkin' about?" a familiar voice rung out, but before the hooded culprits could react, fireballs were launched in their direction.

They both fell over, stumbling over the flowers they were still standing in for some reason. As they did, one of them was struck with a ball of magical energy, which made them bump into the other, and basically it was your average comedic villain scene where the two stupid henchmen easily got defeated. Well, that's what it seemed like until their markings lit up and they stood again.

"How DARE you," the red one spoke, "And I already had my feet painfully attacked by rose thorns!"

"Serves you right," Mei said, stepping up behind Li who had been there the entire time, "You two look like the suspects of the crimes that have been committed," she stomps, her fiery fur lighting up brightly, "We'll bring a stop to this right here!"

The pink one huffed, "More guards that think they can take us?? Even the Royal Guard is--HEY," they had to dodge another fireball.

As the scene is rather standard for what you'd expect, you can take away from this that they fought for a little while before the two were apprehended. And, the fight was more extravagant than their initial impression probably gave off. Indeed, the skill that Li and Mei showed was enough to make the heads of the Royal Guard hire them, and that meant

anyone who underestimated them clearly had it coming, in the end.

...

...

...

In the morning, your Masters were quite shocked that the police were there with the apprehended suspects in the morning, and you were relieved that you wouldn't have to give up hours of talking, training, and money for two people that didn't even keep their job. Though you were most happy about the fact that, one, the suspects were finally caught, and two, that the girls were as diligent as you thought.

You stepped up to Li and bowed in apology, "I'm terribly sorry for my presumption--"

"Don't say it," she says, smiling at you when you stand up, "I got it, okay? Sorry if I came off rude earlier yesterday, too."

Though the recovery was rather quick, once the police left, your Masters stepped up one-by-one to look at the two girls. Sans in particular looked to be thinking about something, as even though he had joined the group, he looked in the direction the police cars had once been. Blue and Papyrus seemed to share his train of thought, while Red and Orange just seemed tired. There was a silence as everyone stared at each other until Black had clenched his fist and stomped with conviction.

"....WHY THE **FUCK** DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME UP TO KILL THEM MYSELF?!"

...ah, yes, starting off the day fresh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the only cliche thing here are the villains, and even then honestly they're not gonna be that big of a threat in the end anyway, this isn't the type of story i want to give an overarching antagonist  
i hate describing fights, so sorry you got that cringy meta description of what's happening
> 
> the entire ending was just kinda meh but whatever, i kinda tend to have awkward endings at some points


End file.
